Help Id This Pelikan Souveran

[londonbooks]

Picked up this Pelikan Souveran 14 carat 585 nib // total length 133mm // barrel diameter 12mm (maybe 13mm). On the ring at the bottom of the cap is engraved: Pelikan Souveran Germany. Can someone tell which model this is for sure. I am thinking a M800 ? Please excuse these amateur photos. Thanks. Also I have a question: What is the difference between Souverans that have the word "Souveran" engraved on the cap as opposed to those Souverans that don't have that word engraved ?

[risingsun]

Too short for an M800, which should also have a 18K nib with that cap logo. Should be an M600, I think.

[londonbooks]

Too short for an M800, which should also have a 18K nib with that cap logo. Should be an M600, I think.

Thank you sir - I'll figure it out sooner or later

[Trebor]

Should be a pre-2003 M600, based on the dimensions from the official Pelikan website and the logo on the cap. Someone might be able to get the era down more definitively than I can.

 

If the pen is a Souveran, then I don't think there's any difference whether the cap is labelled Souveran or not. I'm not familiar enough with Pelikan history, but I would just assume that in some eras, Pelikan didn't write "Souveran" on the cap.

 

It might also be worth mentioning that some pens, like the M200 line are not Souverans (they have steel nibs), so if you were asking specifically thinking about the M200, that's the reason you won't see Souveran on those pens. With regard to the M400 line, when Pelikan introduced the Souveran terminology, they applied that to the M400 line, which was pre-existing, so that could be another reason.

[twdpens]

Yes, 133mm long confirms it's a M600 and the engraving style on the nib means it was made between 1998 (I think that's when Pelikan adopted silk-screened cap logos, but I may be remembering incorrectly) and approx 2009 when nib production moved back in-house.

 

I am curious about the nib though. A quick way to tell the difference between the M600 and smaller M400 (apart from the size, which relies on moderately accurate measurement) is to look at the collector fins. M600 feeds have a wide "fin" at the base of the feed about 1.5mm wide whereas M400 feeds have uniform fins without this wide piece. It's difficult to tell from your photos so I just wanted to check that the correct nib is fitted as M600 can take both M600 and M400 nibs and it's not unheard of for owners to swap them around.

 

HTH,

 

Martin

[sargetalon]

I agree with everyone else that it is an M600 in the modern, new-style trim. I would date the pen 1997 to 2003 based on the two chick logo on the cap top. Nice pen.

[twdpens]

Ah, yes - 2 chicks. Well spotted!

 

Martin