Clay pipe found on river used for logging early 1900s

[Leenumba23]

I found this pipe on the river bank in early spring on the sheepscott river in whitefield maine. It has "Scotland" on one side and "386" and possibly something else that might have been eroded off. My guess is the ice dug it up and pushed it to the shallows where I found it. The river was used for transportation and there was a narrow guage railway running along the river. The rail was torn up in 1933 and the trail that remains has hundreds of the iron spikes. At a cement foundation near where I found the pipe and a bridge where the river crosses I have found old iron spike nails and a Pepsi can from the seventies. This summer I'll dig more for sure but what kind of value would some of these things have? I know I'm not sitting on a gold mine right by my house but these things are really adding up lol.

 

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[kayakguy]

I am no expert but it would surprise me if clay pipes were still widely used in the 1900's I would expect by this time most pipes were meerschaum and mostly briar. I suspect that pipe to be earlier than the 1900s.

I will stay tuned to find out more from somebody who knows more.

 

[villagenut]

I'm certainly no expert on clay pipes but I do know that they are common on archaeological sites and the dating range is so wide that narrowing it down can be very hard to do. The diameter of the stem hole is one way that the dating process works when there is no maker mark or cartouche which can be traceable. The pipe you have there sure looks to be older than 1900...more to the mid 1800's period but again I am no expert here. Here is a chart that shows some examples and date ranges in the evolution of pipe making.

 

[cooper36]

It is prob a trade pipe the white men traded with the Indians. I doesnt look Native American made but European.

 

[yakker]

You might think about pm-ing Indiansteve who has an enormous pipe collection and knows a LOT about the subject. That is definitely NOT an Native American pipe. It says it's Scottish-made. That's a start. Nice pipe! Good luck w/ you on-going hunts (although I'm sure you're buried right now...sigh...) Yakker

 

[coinman123]

I'm certainly no expert on clay pipes but I do know that they are common on archaeological sites and the dating range is so wide that narrowing it down can be very hard to do. The diameter of the stem hole is one way that the dating process works when there is no maker mark or cartouche which can be traceable. The pipe you have there sure looks to be older than 1900...more to the mid 1800's period but again I am no expert here. Here is a chart that shows some examples and date ranges in the evolution of pipe making.

View attachment 1094841

I use that same exact book! "A guide to artifacts of colonial america" right?

Anyways, Very nice pipe, I agree, much earlier than 1900's, I would say $50.

Coinman123,