Army Mount

Rev. Sept. 9, 2024. After Charles Peterson's System pipe, Tom Palmer's Dublin-era Pipe of the Year--which began in 1997-- is arguably the company's most noteworthy accomplishment in the world pipe-smoking community. It's an idea that other companies and artisans have since imitated and continue to imitate. It's also one that's given us some of Peterson's most remarkable shapes in the B and D shape charts. The series has completed its 27th year, and as Pete Freeks and other pipe companioners and collectors often have questions about them, I thought one place to begin would be a visual dictionary of all twenty-eight pipes. That's right, there are actually twenty-four different shapes, because in 2000 a set of two different shapes was released. Here we go. When the series began, it had two names, one stamped on the bowl--LIMITED EDITION--and another by which it was commonly called--PIPE OF THE YEAR. Most in the hobby now use POY as the preferred acryonym. 1997 Limited Edition   1998 Limited Edition   Only the smooth pipes are called "Limited Edition" and numbered. The sandblasted edition (aside from the Founder's Edition 2015 POTY) is called the "Pipe of the Year" and stamped accordingly. That is, until 2016, when "Limited Edition" stamping was dropped and the series began being stamped PIPE OF THE YEAR. There are a few other "ifs, and, and buts," but this will get you started. 1999 Limited Edition     2000 Limited Edition: 1 of 2   2000 Limited Edition: 2 of 2   The first four years of production lacked a year stamp (aside from the sterling hallmark) and were just stamped “LIMITED EDITION” and so on. That changed in 2001, when Peterson began stamping “Y” plus the year above the “LIMITED EDITION.”     2001 Limited Edition: The First with the "Y" Prefix   2002 Limited Edition     2003 Limited Edition     2004 Limited Edition     2005 Limited Edition       2006 Limited Edition 2007 Limited Edition     2008 Limited Edition     For those curious to know, the 2004 and 2008 bowls are, per Tony Whelan, Jr., former factory manager, exactly the same. 2009 Limited Edition       2010 Limited Edition     2011 Limited Edition       2012 Limited Edition     2013 Limited Edition     2014 Limited Edition The 2014 was the first to feature only the availability of an acrylic mouthpiece and is, arguably, the worst POY the company has ever released. I don't normally intrude with my own opinions, but the bowl here is gigantic. It bears only a passing resemblance to a classic Peterson Patent. The acrylic stem is atrocious. The only thing I liked was the box. More's the pity. At the time it was released, the company was convinced that there was a preference among smokers for the less-intensive upkeep of acrylic. This shape would become the last of the B shape group, the B65, in its subsequent appearances. As of this revision (April 2021),…