Description: New American Hat Company 3X Quality Beaver Cowboy Hat, Size 7 3/8. Never Worn, New Old Stock This hat is in excellent, like new condition because it's been stored in its original box, still wrapped in plastic and never worn for around 40 years.Maker: American Hat Co. Estimated Era of Manufacture: Late 1970s to early 80s Retailer: The Hat Store, Houston Texas Quality: 3XSize: measured at 59 which is a size 7 3/8 Color: Black Brim Width: 3 3/4" Crown Height: 5 1/2" Cattlemen's CreaseHat Band: 1/4” color matched ribbonDescription of Felt: The felt is ridged and firm with finely chopped and densely packed fur fibers. beaver content is probably around 30% to 50%. Sweatband: Like newNote: The brand matching box shown in the pics is not included due to the excessive cost of shipping such large packages, but all my hats come with a convenient plastic hat stand for day to day storage, and your hat will be shipped in a regular cardboard box that's set up to protect your hat long term just like the original packaging would. If you want a brand matching hat box I probably have one listed separately that may or may not be the actual original box that came with your hat. You can contact me before the sale and if I haven't already discounted the price of the hat for you in some way, I'll just change the package values in the hat listing and include the box at no extra cost, so you'll only have to pay the increased shipping cost and I'll include the box for free. The new shipping cost could be as low as an extra $10 to $20 if the branded box isn't much bigger than 1750 cubic inches and you don't live too far from Utah, up to as much as $50 to $75 or more if the branded box is particularly large and you live far away from Utah. It's crazy how much USPS rates go up after the package size exceeds 1750 cubic inches. The other option is you can just buy the hat and the box. If there's been no discount for either listing I'll refund the purchase price of the box and the shipping charge of the hat. If there has been a discount equal to or greater than half the original price of the box, I'll refund the shipping charge of the hat and half the purchase price of the box. Hopefully that makes sense.Please see my other listings for more hats and various hat accessories. I’m always happy to combine shipping and may even be persuaded to offer a discount for multiple item purchases.About Real Nice Hats I’m very proud of the many nice comments from my previous customers. If you’re deciding between this hat and one offered by another seller I invite you to read my feedback and let that be a factor in your final decision. I’m a retired gentleman with a lifelong love for fine quality western style hats. I’ve collected many hats in my life and developed a network for acquiring more all the time. I typically maintain an inventory of several hundred hats in various stages of restoration. Over the years I’ve learned a number of restoration techniques from professional hatters and developed my own hat restoration process that I’m constantly refining. If I add up all the hours I put into some of my hats I’m forced to concede that often times this work doesn’t really pay well, but I’m not here trying to get rich selling hats on eBay. I do it out of love and appreciation for the superior quality that went into making these old hats at a time when pride in workmanship and creating a product with enduring value really meant something. One of my favorite qualities of a nice felt hat is its durability and the dramatic metamorphosis that takes place when I transform a dirty, old, neglected, misshapen hat into something beautiful; a hat that looks brand new, ready to bring enjoyment to its proud new owner for another lifetime. So please bear in mind, there’s a huge difference between one of my hats lovingly restored through hours of work and attention to detail and most other used hats on eBay. I list about a dozen hats each week, so if you don’t see what you’re looking for among my current listings, just save me as a seller and check back next week to see my new offerings. I’ve also recently begun offering hat bands, hat pins and brand specific hat boxes to compliment your hat purchase.My Restoration Process My 3 step deep cleaning process removes any unsightly stains or odors. Then each hat is reblocked tight to return it to its original open crowned and flat brimmed form. After reblocking the condition of the sweatband is inspected. If the leather is found to be brittle, cracked or damaged, I patch and reinforce it with a pliable backing strip bonded to the back. By preserving rather than replacing the original sweatband all the important brand and quality information is retained. Then each hat is steamed shaped by hand and stiffened with a professional grade shellac solution. If it came with one, the cleaned silk liner is reinstalled and a hat band is applied.General Hat InfoX value depends on age If you’re shopping for a new hat the “X” system is useful for comparing hats of the same brand, but with vintage hats more consideration should be placed on when the hat was made. Generally speaking, the older the hat the more beaver fur was incorporated into the felt, which with western style hats translates to a thinner, stiffer felt and a lighter weight, higher quality hat. Hats beyond a certain age didn't use "Xs" and relied on the price to communicate quality. Back around the 1910s or 20s when Stetson first started giving their hats an “X” designation the 7X was their top end hat, but most of their hats didn’t get any Xs at all. A fellow eBayer recently sent me a 1922 Stetson price list and from most to least expensive it went 7X, 5X, 4X, 3X, Real Nutria, Nutria, No. 1 Quality, Extra Quality, Excellent Quality, and Select Quality, so the original Stetson 3X cost more and was higher quality than the No. 1 Quality and the Nutria, both of which commonly sell for well over $200 on eBay. That’s why whenever I see a 1920s or 30s Stetson 3X priced low I snap it up quick. There’s simply no comparison between an early Stetson 3X and the current Stetson 3X which is made of 100% wool. The problem Stetson ran into with their new X system is there’s no “FDA” of hats, so there was nothing to prevent company XYZ from marking their inferior hats with 10, 100 or even 1000 Xs. So the X race was on, and over the decades there’s been substantial Xflation.X value depends on maker The X rating system is not and never has been consistent maker to maker. As much as I love those early Stetson 3X hats, I’m pretty sure the earliest 3X Resistol hats are even higher quality. But when other hat makers started putting more Xs on their hats the whole industry followed suit. This is how Xflation got extreme, but also uneven. For example, if Stetson’s thousand dollar hat is a 100X, and that same year Larry Mahan’s thousand dollar hat was marked 500X, is the Larry Mahan a better hat? Well, maybe or maybe not. Is it 5 times better quality than the Stetson, and therefore some kind of amazing deal? The simple answer is no, but the truest answer is probably which hat do you prefer? Quality isn’t absolute. Depending on the blend fur felt can have a wide range of properties, from thinner to thicker, softer to stiffer to color, texture, and sheen, your own subjective preferences have a role to play. A $1000 dollar hat from any well regarded company will certainly be a nice, high quality hat that will last you a lifetime and then some, but one may be softer or firmer, lighter or heavier, thinner or thicker, ect, ect. The one that feels right on your head and makes you feel good when you wear it is the best quality hat for you.
Price: 150 USD
Location: South Jordan, Utah
End Time: 2024-11-18T22:56:44.000Z
Shipping Cost: 0 USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Pattern: Solid
Size: 7 3/8
Color: Black
Material: Beaver
Fabric Type: Felt
Vintage: Yes
Brand: American Hat Company
Department: Men
Model: American Hat Company XXX Quality
Style: Cowboy Hat
Theme: Western
Features: Wide Brim, Lined
Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
Handmade: Yes