Candy store pipe

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Today for some strange reason I walked into the candy store where they have the occasional tin of Orlik and just a few pipes (mostly corn cobs), only to find a complete stranger behind the desk. Apparently the old owner sold and this guy took over. I noticed a pipe stand with three pipes in it and asked to have a look.

The first pipe was a Mastro de Paja bulldog and the tag said 3550 SEK (app 500$), and I was a bit taken aback, I had never seen that pipe (or indeed that kinda price tag) in the candy store before!

The second was an uninteresting no-name at 359 (app 50$) but the third one was a stunning straight grain freehand kinda pipe in a natural colour and I picked it up.
The tag said 999 (app 140$) and the stamping said "Mastro de Paja 3c" among other things. It had a golden ring and a golden spot in the stem but it was bleached from (probably) standing in the window for too long, yet I had never seen it!

The new guy told me that when he took over he was offered a whole bunch of different pipes some ranging as far as 5000 SEK (some 800$) but he had turned them down cause he didnt really have the interest of selling expensive pipes (hence the cobs)... However he did take over that stand which had at one time been in the window but now had been stowed away for a good many years, cause he got it cheap.

"If you are interested I'll give you a good price on the one you're holding" he continued. I walked out of the store 699 SEK (app 100$) poorer, but with my first Mastro de Paja!! Wohoo!! I think I may have made a real find here!