Sorry, excited and just want to tell someone.....I will try to post a picture soon, but I just acquired a near mint first year 51 with sterling silver cap in gray! My first - first year.

Thanks to alot of new friends and some wheelin' and dealin', I've managed to get a nice little cigar box of a collection going.

I don't think I will ever be inking this one...

Congratulations on your find, Jim!

Bill

sorry it took so long to add pics, here is the first year with some friends.

The first year 51 is the grey with sterling lined cap, markings at bottom of cap, extra long clutch inside of cap, double aluminum jewels with machining marks that are wearing away, gf tassies and clip with an extra large lighter colored blue diamond. Proper markings on blind cap with speedline filler.

From left to right:

-1949 Parker Flighter, medium nib.

-1947 Parker 51, double jewel, 14k clip and tassies, translucent black barrel and hood, medium nib, GF cap with cartouche

-1941 Parker 51, double jewel, first year, speedline filler.

-1938 Parker Senior Maxima Vacumatic, speedline filler, broad two-tone nib, double jewel, blue diamond clip, nickel furnishings.

and another

and another

Nice collection, congrats on the good get Jim!

Did you decide to keep the flighter? Because its lookin' real good next to those other 51s... they compliment each other well.

Thanks Johnson, yes, I'm definitely keeping this one. I sold the two extra I had. This flighter was sent to me by my wife, along with the matching pencil. I carry it daily.

Jim

I thought the First Year pens had the "Sterling Silver" marked at the top of the cap not at the bottom?

Am I wrong?

Sterling caps had 3 stages (correct me if im wrong)

1st. Imprint at top (1st, 2nd and 3rdquarters)
2nd. no imprint of Sterling silver 4th quarter transition
Imprint at bottom, 4th quarter

For whatever it's worth, First Years really like to be inked. Also, while I'm not sure about the silver caps, I recall reading on the Parker51.com site that late production First Years do show up now and then with imprints on the bottom. Jeff

My First Year writes perfectly and is super smooth.

The pen has signs of being late production as it has the plastic filler button.
Aluminum barrel jewel. The imprint on the blind cap variable. Only the bottom part of the "P" and the "A" are visible and then nothing until you see the entire "1". The left side of the "M" is missing while the right side is deep, as is the rest of "ADE IN U.S.A." I see no year stamp. Still a faint gold wash on the clutch ring.

The cap is marked "STERLING SILVER MADE IN U.S.A" and is lined. Split arrow "PARKER" Blue Diamond clip with a clear cap jewel.

thanks guys, it's nice to hear that some people ink their first years.....Maybe I'll do just that. Kind of hard to do being that I have other 51's that I use and it's not necessary, but I have been trying to put limits on myself as far as collecting, one being that whatever pen I buy, I'm going to use.

Thanks

Wow, those are beautiful pens you have there.. I dream of the day I walk by a garage sale to find a nice box full of parkers as nice at that..

Hey, could happen!

:

I dream of that too!