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Brand Dating Guides
Loewe stamped no year. Its pipes are dated by silver hallmarks, series names and the change from shape names to numbers.
Updated 2026-10-11
Welcome. If your pipe says Loewe or L&Co, this guide helps you place it in time.
Loewe is one of the oldest pipe makers in London. Collectors value the older pipes very highly.
Loewe never stamped a year on a plain pipe. So most dates here are a range of years.
A silver band is the big exception. A British hallmark on the band gives the exact year.
Our facts come from two Pipedia articles. One is by Michael Lankton, first written in 2013. The other is by Martin Farrent, from 2003.
Where the two disagree, we show both.
Each rule has a rank: high, medium or low. High means strong evidence. Low means a wide range or a weak hint.
1856 to 1955
A Frenchman, Emil Loewe, opened a shop and workshop in 1856. It stood at 62 Haymarket, in London.
In 1920 a firm called Civic bought Loewe. This is the date Lankton gives.
Lankton says the pipes did not change much after that. So collectors call 1856 to 1964 the Haymarket era.
He splits it in three parts: 1856 to 1920, 1920 to 1955, and 1955 to 1964.
1964 to today
Lankton says the quality dropped from 1964. He calls 1964 to 1978 the Civic era.
In the 1960s the Haymarket building was lost. Farrent says the pipes were then made in several places in London.
Lankton starts the Cadogan era in 1978. Farrent says the Loewe trademark became Cadogan's in 1979.
In 1980 Cadogan bought Orlik. This let the group bring its pipe making into one factory in Southend-on-Sea.
Farrent thinks Loewe making had moved to Southend by 1982. Some London-stamped pipes still carry hallmarks of 1982 and 1983.
Farrent also reports French-made Loewes in the early 1980s. A Danish collector was offered both kinds in 1982.
Start with the left side of the shank. Most Loewes say L&Co inside an oval. This oval was used in every era.
The right side says Loewe, London W. This stamp was kept for a very long time, so it does not date the pipe.
Under the L&Co oval you may find a series name. Centurion, Original and Old English were the first three.
Lankton says these came in 1955. Farrent says the series started some time between 1956 and 1964.
Later series were Standard, Spigot and Mounted. Lankton places them in the Civic era, from 1964.
Lucite and Filigree are series of the Cadogan era, from 1978.
Now turn the pipe over. Older Loewes have a shape name on the underside, such as Inverness, Boston or Larne.
Each shape name is an English place name. Inverness is a lovat, Boston a billiard, Larne a canadian.
Some time before 1968, three-digit numbers took the place of the names. They begin with a 9. A 910 is a billiard.
Last, look for silver. A band with a hallmark gives the year. Our UK silver hallmarks guide shows how to read it.
Loewe had three top grades. In order they are Extra Grain, Straight Grain and Special Grain.
These pipes show the grade in place of the shape name, with Made in England in a circle.
Our sources give no clear years for these grades. Lankton says they lasted up to or into the Civic era.
A dealer at Smokingpipes.com dated one Special Grain to the mid-to-late 1960s. He called it his best guess.
Made in England in a circle is a trap. Lankton calls it a sign of a Cadogan Loewe, from 1978.
But he also saw it on older export pipes from 1920 to 1955. So read it with the shape mark and the series.
Do not date a pipe only because a series name is missing. A missing mark never dates a pipe.
The change from names to numbers is not exact. Farrent found a 1967 pipe with a name and a 1967 hallmark with a number.
Some Civic pipes carry the same three-digit numbers as Loewes. Check the brand stamp first.
The new Cadogan numbers are different. By 2003 a billiard was a 28, a lovat an 834, a canadian a 296.
So a pipe stamped 296 is not an old 9xx pipe. Farrent says a 296 was bought in 1982.
Some 9xx spigots have hallmarks of the early 1980s but stems made years later. The bowl and the stem can differ in age.
Lankton warns about pipes marked Standard or Original. Some were made under Civic, with lower quality. Judge the pipe in your hand.
Pipes stamped Haymarket or Beefeater are seconds, a cheaper line. Haymarket seconds have two-digit shape numbers.
The strongest dating mark on a Loewe. Read it before anything else.
A British hallmark on a silver band or cap
Common on early silver Loewes up to 1920. Lankton says Les Wood hallmarked all Cadogan silver from 1979 to 2007. Make sure the band is not a later repair.
The series sets a floor. The end years are approximate.
Centurion, Original or Old English
Lankton says introduced in 1955. Farrent says some time between 1956 and 1964. The end year is our approximation.
Standard, Spigot or Mounted
Added in the Civic era, says Lankton. Farrent also calls them later series.
Great Britain as the series name
Lankton saw it on Civic-era pipes. Farrent saw one on a pipe bought around 1980. Rarely documented.
Lucite or Filigree
Series of the Cadogan era. One source only (Lankton).
Name or number. Read it together with the series.
A shape name on the underside, such as Inverness, Boston or Larne
Names were used before the 9xx numbers. Pipes from before 1920 may carry them too. Cadogan may still stamp a name on request.
A three-digit shape number beginning with 9, such as 910
Farrent says the change may have come a few years before 1967. Numbers were still used in 1983.
A later Cadogan number, such as 28, 834 or 296
A 296 was bought in 1982. A dealer showed these numbers in 2003. One source only (Farrent).
Cheaper lines with their own stamps.
Haymarket stamp, often with a two-digit shape number
Seconds of the Haymarket era. One source only (Lankton). Do not mix this up with a Cadogan 28.
Beefeater stamp
Lankton believes these seconds were made under Civic. He says believe, not know. One source only.
Shown so you do not lean on them.
A step in the tenon
Later pipes have a step. Haymarket pipes come both ways, says Lankton. It is a weak floor only.
Loewe London W., London, or Made in England
Certain for a Loewe, but it does not narrow the date. The firm used London in every era.
What We Don't Know Yet
Published deliberately. If you hold the catalogue, hallmarked example, or period document that closes one of these gaps, write to us — corrections are credited. Every open question across the encyclopedia is gathered on the Open Questions page.
Changelog
Sources
Holding a Loeweyou can't place? Our shelves usually hold a few — documented to this same standard.
Loewe in the Shop