The first fountain pen I purchased, back about 20 years ago or more, was a full size gold plated Targa. A very nice pen, so much so that I was almost afraid to use it.

Now I have a little more money and my interest in pens has expanded, I decided to splash out on my first Targa set. I found a nice fluted fp and bp on Ebay which seemed to be in excellent condition generally and reasonably cheap, so I placed my bid.

They arrived in this morning's mail and well...the pens were a little more than I expected.

My knowledge of the Targa range is pretty limited but after doing a little research on the internet I found a reference to one particular model with opals inserted in the caps. Could this be what I have here? The fp is marked AUSTR. at the base of the cap.

Is this more valuable/scarcer than the standard fluted set?

You have a very nice set there. Model 1065 is the fluted gold Targa with the opal on the top, made in Australia. It is indeed harder to find and much more valuable than the standard 1005 fluted gold model. I wasn't able to find mine as a set, I purchased the FP and the BP from two different sellers. Neither pen came with a box. Total price for the pair was a little over $400. Sounds like you did really well, perhaps even sumgai. Congratulations!

Thank you. I couldn't find a great deal of information on the net so your reply is very helpful.
I gathered that the pens probably were a little less common but I recall reading that they had a fairly long production date so I wasn't sure.

I sounds like I did pretty well on this purchase - I only paid $35! [ ...Athough I should add that whilst they are in excellent condition, both are engraved 'Lionel Amos' on the cap.]

This should make up for some of those purchases on Ebay where I received less than I had hoped!

G

I just picked up off the bay a targa sterling pen and pencil set. Fantastic condition, great writers. A little polish and they look as new. Stole the set for $65.00. Now on the lookout for a sterling full size FB.

Enjoy,
Jimbones7

WOW! What a find!

Jimbones's sterling Targa set is a tremendous discovery, also.

Targas are among the best pens ever made anywhere by anybody, at any time (in my humble opinion of course). They are fantastic writers.

Enjoy!