The month of July is synonymous with symbols of America: America's birthday, a time that is celebrated with the evening sky full of the brilliant sights and sounds of fireworks, baseball teams entertain adoring fans cheering on their heroes; families and friends enjoy gathering together for summer picnics and holidays. Another American symbol as true as good old apple pie, is the bold black and white stripes of this nation's tallest lighthouse, Cape Hatteras, N.C. Readers of the Lighthouse Digest are well aware of the debate that has been presented on moving our nation's historical gem, and the importance of preserving a true American landmark from the encroaching sea.

Harbour Lights collectors have been able to fulfill their collections over the years with several different versions of this sentinel. The original version of the Cape Hatteras lighthouse was produced in southern California and came in a brown unlabeled box. This piece, because of a breakage problem in its reed-thin tower, resulted in only 266 being produced. Many collectors believe that as few as 100 of these exist. The first lighthouses made, somewhere under 130, in the edition had white tips, perhaps to depict the lighter color of the copper head of the Cape Hatteras light. The later ones, somewhere over 130, had black tips. These were made in Canada and came in white boxes labeled "Castle Studios". The original mold also had a little oil house on the grounds and a view of the sea. The painting on these is not consistent. On some, the sea is light blue, and on others it is dark blue. The color of the grounds and the steps of the lighthouse vary through out. I am told it is because the paint used in southern California was different to the paint used in Canada.

This piece is the crown jewel of the Harbour Lights collection, and commands a hefty secondary market price, exceeding $4,000.

The revised Cape Hatteras, created from a mold after the original, was produced in a limited edition of 5,500 pieces and was retired in 1993. It stands alone with no house or view of the sea. The tower is much thicker eliminating the breakage problem that happened with the earlier piece. It stands just as bold as the original with its black and white stripes. This is a true asset to any collection and brings between $475 to $800 on the secondary market. Both the original and the revised limited edition Cape Hatteras came with a United States commemorative stamp of the Cape Hatteras lighthouse.

A large void was left in the Harbour Lights collection with the retirement of the second Cape Hatteras figurine in 1993. Consequently, in the fall of 1994 Harbour Lights introduced an open edition version. This lighthouse is smaller than the other two, yet the mold contains full view of the surrounding area, including the little oil house and the sea, which had been on the original version.

Harbour Lights donates a portion of their sales to the preservation of the real Cape Hatteras light in North Carolina.

For more than three decades, Cape Hatteras lighthouse has represented a large part of my life. I have fond memories of surfing the powerful swells that threaten this lighthouse's existence as well as many remarkable days fishing in front of this sentinel, and still make a yearly pilgrimage with my family to her shores. Now in the shadow of this great lighthouse, I watch my children laughing and playing on her beaches as this lighthouse becomes part of their America.

Matt Rothman is the owner of Lighthouse Trading Co., which is the original and leading source specializing in the secondary market of Harbour Lights. He can be contacted at 112 Elio Circle, Limerick, PA, or by calling him at #610-409-9336.

This story appeared in the July 1998 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. The print edition contains more stories than our internet edition, and each story generally contains more photographs - often many more - in the print edition. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.

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