For you Sheaffer experts/collectors:

I got this Sheaffer in a lot of 4 pens on eBay. I have had several hundred Sheaffers in my hands but never had one quite like this. I always want to try and label my pens correctly, so I am wondering if someone will comment, if you know.

<img src=http://home.comcast.net/~lgschamp/pens/sheaffertriumphvaliant.jpg>

This looks like a fat touchdown but the filler is a lever filler. The nib is definitely one of the first Triumph nibs (1942-48). The cap band looks like a later Valiant model of the snorkel and touchdown series. It is about 5 1/4 inches long capped. There is a white dot on the end of the barrel and there is a white dot above the clip.

I would be inclined to call it a Sheaffer Triumph Valiant LF but I have never seen a reference to such a pen on any online sources.

Can you solve the mystery?

Thanks.
...Lee

The clip suggests this is a 1945 or later model. The later Triumph models had straighter clips compared to the earlier versions.

You're likely right regarding the Valiant model. Check the second 1946 magazine National Geographic ad from the PenHero site.

The pen is a circa late 1946-1948 Valiant cap on the barrel of a 1946-early 1947 Sentinel, based on the visible attributes and period literature.

Both the black Valiant and Sentinel models came in vacuum and lever-fill versions.

--Daniel

Daniel,

That is very interesting. I had been wondering whether there might have been a cap swap. It fits fine. Another piece of information is that the barrel has the stamp "1500" under the Sheaffer imprint.

Out of further curiosity, what is it that you see that causes you to say the barrel is a Sentinel rather than a Valiant?

Thanks for the help.
...Lee

The White Dot on the barrel end indicates it was originally intended to bear a metal cap; up until mid-March of 1948, Sheaffer did not mount the White Dot on metal caps but placed it on the barrel instead on those models. The '1500' is the price of the pen in cents -- $15.00 -- which corresponds with the Sentinel model.

--Daniel

Daniel,

Thanks. The two white dots is what made me wonder if there had been a cap swap since I was quite sure no pen design had two. Thanks for detailed history. Its very interesting.

...Lee

My pleasure. There is a good bit of confusion about models of this era, in part due to the widespread misguided use of the price stamp as a model number, which it is not.

--Daniel

Overall look (plastic cap and barrel) is a Valiant. What passes for my recollection is that one or the other filler does not change the model name though likely does change the catalogue number, given how Balance was treated a few years earlier. WHite dot on bottom is surprising on a plastic pen with white dot cap- suggests a higher line barrel meant for either GF or brushed white metal cap.

Useful Barrel BTW. Probably someone could dig up a plain black barrel in exchange. Is there a number stamped on barrel?

d

As noted above, it's a marriage of a Valiant cap and a Sentinel barrel; both black pens were available as lever-fillers.

--Daniel

somewhat redundant but accurate based on my edited reply. Blowing up the pic in photoshop, i do see now the 1500 imprint which iirc on the larger pen of this ilk rules out the GF cap pen (1750 price). I've really gotta shoot the 60+ pens from the 1940's lying about.

d

d