Topic: Caithness P.C.C. centenary weight, 1884-1994

[chopin-liszt]

Hi all. A local charity shop has for sale a Caithness  paperweight, engraved with PCC 1884-1984 on the front facet.
The base is marked Caithness Scotland, then what I think might be AM, then what might be a c, or a 9 or just a squiggle and 84 in tiny writing.
It's a very boring and uninteresting weight in itself - just a smoky brown sort of lump at the botton, with a few bubbles over it.
But I think it must be the Paperweight Collector's Club centenary weight. It's quite big.

If anybody is interested, I can get it for them and send it on.
But I'm not risking £5 of my money on it unless I know somebody does want it!

[petet63]

Don't know about the weight but I do know that the  good Caithness weights do really well in my opinion. collectors will pay more than £5 especially Limited or Special editions.. In my experience they sell quite well. I would have paid £5 and would list for £10-15 and see where it goes. There isn't a 'Market place' thread on the Caithness collectors site that I could find as that would be one of the best places to mention it's for sale. Every time I add one in the market place here the number of watchers definitely increases.
   On a similar subject, I saw a swan in a charity shop but left it alone, then saw a thread on here about a Beranek Swan, had a quick search and it is another Beranek piece !! and now I dont know which one I saw it in as I visited 4/5 that day. Will have to try again. I missed out on two pieces of Chribska doing the same thing as you just last week as well.

[chopin-liszt]

I don't sell stuff myself - not yet anyway. 
I do know good weights are ... well, good weights! 

It's these "scarce" odd, uninteresting and engraved with obscure/company/anniversary/centenary/retirement things that I don't quite get.... 
I do know that some of them are more desirable or scarce or perhaps have some personal meaning to somebody, or if it is the one thing missing from a set, etc.,

So I am merely offering to go and buy it for anybody here who would like it - for the £5 plus P&P. I can pack it and send it on.
I thought with it having the Paperweight Collector's Club connection, that it might be of interest to somebody here.

[petet63]

Is it Wuff that has something to do with the Caithness weights ?. The thing about buying to sell is...having to let really nice pieces go. I buy them and display for a while before listing. It can be a great way to put money away for that special piece of glass. Does seem a bit strange that a Centenary or commemorative piece to be a bit boring, considering what they can do.

[Wuff]

Suggestion: Sue, could you get the weight, please? You mention £5: I'll pay that - you take pictures - and once we have seen pictures, we decide what to with it .

But what does the PCC stand for? Would paperweight collecting have been popular enough in 1894 to set up a Collectors' Club? To be honest - I have my doubts, and would put my money on a Cricket Club.

Finally, on the "value" of centenary or other commemorative weights: for someone connected to whatever is being celebrated, the value may be quite high - even if the design as a paperweight on its own may be quite uninteresting.

[chopin-liszt]

Ok, I'll get it today Wuff. It's not a problem "forking out" £5 if it's of interest to Scotland's Glass.

[KevinH]

The Paperweight Collectors Circle (not Club) was a renaming (2003/4) of the original Cambridge Paperweight Circle, which was founded in 1981.

So, very likely not much connection with the weight.

[Wuff]

So, very likely not much connection with the weight.

The PCC, as we know it today (I'm a member) will certainly not be connected to this weight.
My question was - is it likely that in 1884 [sorry for the typo in my previous message] such a Club (or Circle) would have been founded - and I didn't consider that very likely. Apart from the fact - if it celebrated a centenary in 1984 (1994?), likely we would know about it.

[chopin-liszt]

I've got the lump.

PCC could be police complaints commission, press complaints commission, pharmacy contractor committes, a legal professional competence course...

Something needs to be done to reduce the number of acronyms used in this promiscuous manner. 
There are far too many which are the same, and without context, are just meaningless!

[Wuff]

I've got the lump.

Great - thank you ! Could you, please, take a few pictures and post them here? Also - send me a mail with your paypal name (I assume you got one - if not, also let me know), so I can refund the £5.
Best regards - Wolf