Question for 51 Aero Experts out there -

I just purchased another aerometric fill 51 from eBay, knew that it was blue but not sure which shade. Turns out to be the lighter teal blue; I was hoping for a midnight blue, in my heart o' hearts.

How common were the midnight blues? Are they like Plum and Cocoa in scarsity (hence, price) or are they more frequent?

This (first year, 1948) teal has a pretty nice F nib and it polished up well, so I think I will keep it. One tiny tiny chip in the barrel but you have to use a loupe to see it, so I'm gonna live with it. Just wondering whether to keep the flame alive for a midnight down the road.

Thanks for any advice!

According to Ernesto Soler on Parker51.com, Midnight Blue (which I believe he refers to as Navy Blue) was nearly as common as Black, and Teal Blue somewhat scarcer:

http://parker51.com/gpage1.html4.html

(Scroll about 2/3 down page for color table.)

Yeah, they're common. Ive been wondering for a while how the whole notion that midnight blue was rare got started. I think it started on ebay by some benz-like sellers saying "rare midnight blue aerometic!" and people actually bought it.

On a side note, I've seen some ebay sellers claim "rare india black vacumatic!" before. I kid you not.

I like the teal blue myself. The navy blue is too much like black to me, and the teal is a nice shade of blue that noticeably is blue.

If you really want a midnight blue aero, just get the parts from Ernesto and put them on a aero you have already. It'll cost you like 25$.

Thanks!

Or, heck - I may just hold out for a Cedar Blue 51 vac, which is what I started out wanting. This teal is in pretty nice shape overall. Good to know that Ernesto has plastic parts for sale, I had not realized that.