I got this parker "51" double-jeweled from ebay. It no blue-star, has an apparently the cheapest later steel cap, teal color, and the barrel has no sign of any dating. Can this be real or a fake one? See attached picture.

Another picture of the pen -- for those knowledgeable p51 experts!

what makes you think it is NOT authentic?

The cap is steel, no color of gold, but the tassie is gold-colored -- apparent lack of match. Also, it has a long clip, which I heard was only produced in later years. Also, there is an name inscribed on the barrel, but there is no sign of any factory dating information (there is nothing like "Parker Made in USA .7.", etc). But I am expert enough to conclude.

It certainly looks like an authentic 51, but it looks to me like a mis-match of parts. Without the blind cap, it looks identical to my 1947 Vac 51, plastic filler, Lustralloy non-blue diamond cap, Lustralloy ring between the barrel and the hood.

The only problem I see with it is the blind cap and cap don't match. This cap style was introduced in mid-1947 when Parker faced legal issues with the blue diamond and lifetime warranty, so they did away with the blue diamond. I'm not sure if Parker made double jeweled 51s with this later style cap, but I would venture to say that if both the cap and blind cap were original, the blind cap wouldn't have a gold trim ring, or the cap would have some gold on it, most likely a gold pocket clip.

My guess is you have a very nice 51 with a non-original cap or blind cap. Which one? Who knows. It all depends on the date code on the pen, which is most likely worn off.

In any case, enjoy the pen; like most 51s, I'm sure it's a great writer.

Tom

I'm curious to the actual build date of the pen/barrel/hood/nib. I think the only hidden clue may be the date and origin of the nib.

It may be a cap change - cap and clutch ring change or 'manufactured' blind cap.

Ron

What puzzled me is that the original owner's name is still clearly inscribed there, whereas the production date info is gone -- what is the rationale of wearing this date off? Or, is there a version of P51 barrel that does not have any dating information?

The 'Parker' inscription and production date is not that deep. It could have been sanded and polished and no longer be visible.

Ron

Yes, the barrel of a first-year "51" lacks an imprint. On first-year pens, the imprint is on the blind cap. If there is none, it's possible that the blind cap has been swapped at some point or that the imprint (even fainter when new than on later barrels) has worn away.

i can't be sure, but it appears that the clutch ring has a gold wash, which would properly match a gold-filled or solid gold cap with a Blue Diamond clip. But cap swapping is common on "51"s.

Richard, the tassie of this pen does not have any mark either. The blind cap seems to fit perfectly. So it is likely that the cap has been swapped? Does that jeweled blind cap worth $100?

Probably a replaced cap. If the blind cap is a replacement, it was likely installed a long time ago and lathe-turned to fit. If you just pulled a jeweled blind cap out of a parts bin and tried it on a randomly selected barrel, you would have to be incredibly lucky for them to fit halfway decently. This is even more the case with a single-jewel barrel, since the profiling is different between single- and double-jewel pens.

Note that the long arrow clips are early, not late.