What's in Your Stock of Stuff?
Reprinted from "Crown Jewels of the Wire", April 2007, page 24

Until last fall, there was only a single example of a CD 111 known in the hobby. That is, until a collector was going through his stock of insulators.

Ron Yuhas tells the story as follows, "The short story on the find is that I had a warehouse that I had stored insulators and other stuff for the last 25 years or so that had to be cleaned out. In the process of reboxing and cleaning up piles of low or no value insulator accumulations from many years of buying, I came across the CD 111. It felt and looked different so I set it aside to check on later.

At the time I thought that it might be the CD 111 but knew that it would be a real long shot. When I got it home and looked in the photo in the McDougalds History and Guide Book I became more excited. I then emailed the McDougalds and some others photos to get an opinion. All thought it was indeed a CD 111 but they advised me that Woody Woodward should confirm it. It was sent to Woody and he did advise that the insulator was a CD 111."

Ron's find is shown above.

The ultra-rare CD 111 is only slightly smaller than its extremely common cousin, the CD 128. McDougald's Price Guide list the measurements of a CD 111 as 3 and 11/16ths inches tall, while the CD 128 is 4 inches tall. They are both 2 and 5/ 8th inches across at the base.

Previously, the only known CD 111 was in the Lyons Historical Museum in Lyons, Colorado. According to McDougald's book, "A History and Guide to North American Glass Pintype Insulators, Volume 2", the insulator was donated to the museum by its previous owner, Al Campbell, at the time of his death.

The Price Guide values a CD 111 at $5,000 - $7,500.

Before you head out to your garage or shop to start looking through your stock of clear glass insulators, be aware there is an intermediate size (see photo above) that is also considered a common CD 128.

Ron explains, "The intermediate one in the photo is the CD 128 [050] that is listed in the price guide a being 1/2 inch shorter than the standard CD 128. John McDougald said that he has had a number of people think that they have the CD 111 but it turns out to be that item."

In this case, the "1/2 inch" is apparently a general guide rather than a precise measurement. Afterall, the CD 111 is only 7/16ths of an inch (less than a half inch) shorter than the CD 128. A better clue would be to look at the size and shape of the dome, which is obviously smaller in diameter than the CD 128. The intermediate variety, while being a shorter insulator, has a dome that is similar in size and shape to the CD 128.

If this article inspires you to look through your stock of stuff, and if you do happen to find a CD 111, let us know here at Crown Jewels. We wish you the best of luck.