Tanganyika Meerschaum Corporation. No longer mined. Estimated value?

Hi all,

I'm wondering if I hit a score today. I found a meerschaum in an antique store. I'll post photos later when I have access to do so but I've been researching it and it's an un smoked Tanganyika Meerschaum Corporation with the white elephant logo on the side. Claiming to be block meerschaum. It's from Tanzania based on my research.

Mine has a perfect like new stem, no cake, perfect like new bowl with no burning and a black, brown, yellow stain applied. She's basically spent the last 50 or so years in storage. Never used!

Based on my info hunt on these it appears the mining stopped in the 60s and they're valuable now due to no more production.

Does anyone know anything about them? Did I score? Are there heaps of them perhaps and I'm getting a little over excited?

Would love to hear what others have to say.

Photos to come.

The Tanganyika pipe that I have is a meer lined one, although I have seen the blocks as well. I checked pipepedia a while back and saw that the African meerschaum is generally thought as a lesser quality to the Turkish, but to me it matters not as I find the performance to be the same

The pipe is, of course, valued at what you purchased it. To some it may be slightly more valuable and to others slightly less. I bought my enormous Tanganyika Kilimanjaro cherrywood (meer lined) off eBay for about $60 shipped

Its denser with a coarser appearance than Turkish meer, but it actually smokes just fine. It is somewhat less fragile, too.

There's been a seller on eBay lately who has somehow acquired loads of them unsmoked. But it sounds like a good catch for you.

I honestly like them more than my Turkish meets because they more tough and tumble.

I have a billiard, two dublins and an opera shaped one. They all smoke wonderfully.

African Meers are great smoking pipes. They're not the most expensive, but they're solid.

They're like the Custom-Bilts of the meer world... good smokers for a good price. Well, until the CB craze hit and prices went up.

That's some great feedback and I've had fun researching it. You're right @Senshi Andrew, that eBay seller has a great little collection. Considering their age I'm amazed they haven't been snapped up.

@cursethis, Jason what are you referring to until the "CB craze"? I'm obviously oblivious.



That's a lovely pipe @Tim_McD. It's truly a beauty. A poker is still on my bucket list.

Here's some photos for all to see and for historical purposes for any future researchers. It's got some stain issues at the top. At first I thought it was cracked or similar but it's not, it's just the factory stain has somehow strayed from black. Totally unsmoked and clean as new bowl, not a tooth mark on the stem and although you can't see it in the photos the bottom of the stem has a very small Tanganyika imprint pressed in.

I'm torn as to smoke it or put her on the bay for a collector who's truly chasing something like this. It's not normal to get an unsmoked pipe of this age and I don't know if it's a crime to smoke it or maybe I should just enjoy it for what it was made for.

Also, I'll start another thread but the sticky tape they had the price attached with in the antique store left goo behind. I'll start another thread on removing that from the meerschaum.

Enjoy and thanks again to all.. Rob

More images...

CB = Custom-Bilt

Congrats on the score.

Ah now I follow. Those custom bilts, shudder, they're really not very attractive in my mind. To each their own though.

Robster said:

Ah now I follow. Those custom bilts, shudder, they're really not very attractive in my mind. To each their own though.

Click to expand...

They're some of the best smokers that I own. Others will also attest to it.

cursethis said:

They're some of the best smokers that I own. Others will also attest to it.

Click to expand...

I love my Custombilts. I had to send a couple home with my father when he came to Japan and I can't wait to get back to smoking them. I swear that old Algerian briar does magical things to tobacco.

I guess I need to check these CB's out! Never smoked one........yet.......