1938 LWC MS-67+ Just Sold For $6455

Someone would pay a million dollars for a phone pole insulator?

Not $1,000,000 for any one insulator. But he has put more than this out collectively for them yes. He has most of the one-of-a-kinds known in the hobby as well. Some of are the shelves in the same room as (one of) his Gatling guns...the one believed to have been used By General A. Custer.

I think the record for an insulator purchase is 150K (unofficially). Antique bottles have gone for more!

The other millions he has dropped have been with insulator-hobby go-withs such as his own antique steam engine with tender, mail car and caboose. He said he was told an engine was not called a "train" unless it had these 4 components. So he had to have them all.

When the local city was tearing down an old metal RR bridge for scrap. He paid them $2,000,000.00 to tear it down and rebuild it across the river running through his property.

He is the coin collector who owns all but one (I believe - unless got the final one) of the Y2K Sacagawea & quarter mule coins.

I asked him. Yes, he has a set of of one each of the off-metal 1943 and 1944 LWCs also, along with 1 million (yes) 1923 steel cents. The huge jars I saw containing some of them looked to be MS as well. Being in arid New Mexico makes it easier to keep them in MS.

He has a DC9, F16 (wrecked ones were legal to buy and own - and he had it restored), a customized cadillac ordered by Elvis (but never delivered due to Elvis' death), an M1 tank, the insides area of a B17 where Boxcar Willie served in WWII, and his mansion is made of polished petrified rock found on his property.

All of these things he keeps in 3 of his museums (including the largest private collection of stuffed animals in the world - many of them obtained like the White Rhino that died in the NY zoo and he got it from them) which are always open to the public and schools by appointment. For which he pays a local as a guide to come in and give the tours (no charge to the people viewing the museums).

There really is MUCH more (like his stage coach, steam tractor collection, etc.)

He also got his pyrotechnic's license and makes his own professional fireworks. He puts on (designs, and sets off) a huge fireworks display for the city each year on the 4th...all out of his own pocket. Since he makes his own fireworks, they are more colorful (each individual firework) than any I have seen professionally on TV or otherwise. What I mean by this is he has all the colors of the rainbow in just one shot.

He once wanted an anchor form a sea going vessel b/c he thought it would be nice for kids to climb on while picnicking at his place during museum field trips.

And seriously, there is much more.

So paying the price of that MS68 cent would go unnoticed by him. And if you have two such people wanting something, well...


And, BTW, a lot of insulator collectors are also coin collectors. I think appreciation of the history and beauty of the collected objects might be the tie between the two. I know for me it is.

My window display:

Thanks, @Earle42. Fascinating stuff.

@KK


I have thought maybe I should start an insulator grading/slabbing (big plexi cubes!) business...NOT!

LOL!

Actually, insulator collectors are not as concerned about damage b/c these were utilitarian, were packed in barrels of straw for shipping on flatbeds of trains, likely the barrels were literally dumped off of the flatbeds, and then the insulators spent decades exposed to the elements with a wire continually exerting force on them (hence worn rubs/grooves into the glass etc.).

In fact the official price guide actually says the prices listed are for near mint condition insulators and that a mint condition insulator is worth a premium. Yes, mint condition pieces can be found can be found, but having a rare piece in mint condition is really something special.

The colors were a genius marketing idea used by the second largest, Hemingray Glass Co. to get a bigger piece of the pie form the leader, Brookfield.

Hemingray marketed the idea of colors making it easier for a specific company, sending out a lineman for repairs, to easily ID that specific company's line. This is where the bulk of the amazing colors came form in the hobby, but I am not sure it worked as planned simply b/c sometimes they were found totally populating whole poles for some distances just like normal aqua or clear ones. I am sure in some places it did work. But the idea was abandoned by them for most of their time in business after it had been introduced (1880s), so the color idea must not have been as profitable as they hoped.

The hobby believes all purples were made as clear insulators and turned purple by sunlight exposure. Manganese, the clarifying agent for the glass batch, is well documented as turning purple with UV exposure.

@Early, European isolators are worth also? I took only 6 from my old home to use on the country home self electricity produce? Those are from the early 1900.

Early, yes they are from Italy

Very interesting stuff Earle42. Thanks for sharing. As for that window display, that is awesome! I love the varying colors.