"53" Date Code On A Vacumatic Debutante

[ImpulseTradingCo]

Looking for help from the experts... I thought I knew how Parker date codes work, but I have in hand a Vacumatic Deb with a "53" date code with three dots. Did the make Vacs that late? Or?

 

~Richard

[FarmBoy]

Yes they made Vacs that late.

 

Can I see a picture of your clip?

[ImpulseTradingCo]

Answer one question, get two more!

 

How late were Vacumatics made? I thought they were done by 1950.

 

In the photo, the "53" is at the top. The one below has a worn off date code, but the exact same clip. Note the cap band on the "53" is mounted at the edge of the lip. When I first saw it, I thought the lip of the cap had been ground off. But the caps on both of these are exactly the same length. Is it possible that this a factory original? Or is it someone's later repair?

 

~Richard

[Brian-McQueen]

I'm guessing this pen is Canadian made? I haven't seen a US made Vacumatic with a date code that late, though I wouldn't rule it out. In Canada, they did make Vacumatics up into the 50s. I have a couple with 53 date codes. Your blue pen is a Debutante size, and usually would be expected to have a Blue Diamond clip. However, if yours is a Canadian made pen with a 1953 date code, the Non Blue Diamond clip is correct. The Blue Diamond clip stopped being used in 1948, so any Vacumatics made after that would not have a Blue Diamond clip. As for the cap band placement, my feeling is that the cap plastic has shrunk a little bit, and the cap band has fallen out of place. These late Canadian Vacumatics seem to always have loose cap bands.

 

The third pen from the right in this picture is a late Canadian Major. A Major would normally have a Blue Diamond clip, but since it was produced so late, it has a regular non BD clip.

 

This clip is on a late Canadian Major with a date code of 1951. The Blue Diamond on this clip was punched out before the clip was installed on the pen.

[FarmBoy]

That is the clip I was looking for.

 

Affectionately referred to as the punched diamond clip.

 

Clip was not a diamond clip and the pen wouldn't have been a life-time pen anyway since long before 1951 the life-time was over.

 

There is a story with these but it lacks references which are surely in the archive that is off-limits.

[ImpulseTradingCo]

Thanks so much! The imprint is a bit worn, and the "Made in Canada" is hard to make out, but it's there. The re-positioned cap band shows no evidence of having been mounted elsewhere (I am looking for the groove it fit into), so I'm thinking it is a very well done modification. Your help is greatly appreciated!

~Richard

[FarmBoy]

I should add, there are a lot of US made Vacs with date codes into the 60s...usually found with punched clips.

[Brian-McQueen]

Note also that the pen I pictured with a punched clip is a Silver Pearl with gold filled trim.

[FarmBoy]

Note also that the pen I pictured with a punched clip is a Silver Pearl with gold filled trim.

Have yet to see a nickel clip punched. Possible the band is polished to the base metal?

[Brian-McQueen]

Have yet to see a nickel clip punched. Possible the band is polished to the base metal?

 

?? No, this is a gold filled clip and gold filled band on silver pen. The pen has never seen ink as far as I can tell. It's essentially mint.