This pen is owned by a lady in Baltimore and I've been looking to purchase. A first I thought Golden Arrow, with the blue diamond on the clip, but the barrel pattern is blue, sort of like Vacumatics I've seen.

Any ideas? I think the pictures she sent me were taken by a cell phone so they are really blurry. Assuming it is in good condition, and you can identify, any idea about price? Apparently it's been sitting in this woman's car for a while.

Without seeing the back end, I would say it is a Third Generation Vacumatic in Azure Blue... nice pens, but generally one of the more common Vacs seen around...
Depending on when the filler was restored (if it ever was) you can figure on spending an additional $35 approx for restoration on top of the pen price...

What is she asking for the pen...

this will be similar to the pen mentioned (and better photographed) in this thread:

http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...c=69590&hl=

of course, the pen in that thread was a lucky find at $25. i've seen vacs like this selling on ebay for about $50-70 unrestored, and maybe $100+ in tiptop shape, depending, of course, on the condition of the pen, the brassing, etc.

Well at first I offered $10, not really knowing the condition or anything about the pen. I'm not a pen-expert by any means, and know even less about pricing for older pens.

She replied that it was a bit low (which it appears it was) and that she knows a pen dealer and knows all the prices. Okay. So I asked her what she wanted for it, since I can't really tell what condition it is in, and she hasn't clearly identified what model/year it is (despite knowing all the prices through her pen dealer friend.. hmmm).

No response, so I upped my offer to $25, citing the probable filler repair and some apparent brassing on the rings and probably on the nib as well.

We'll see what happens! I used to have a couple decent fountain pens, then over the years they either disappeared or were broken/neglected. Now that I've been writing more I'd like to pick up a few decent models and really enjoy the experience. But, I don't really have the money to go out and buy an $80-200 pen.

You would also want to find out the condition of the nib - are the tines aligned correctly and is the irridium ball still on the tip. Is is a two-tone or single color nib? Two tone nibs are worth a bit more. Are there any cracks? Are there any names or initials monogrammed into it? Does it have its end cap? - you can not tell from these photos. $25 sounds like a reasonable offer without knowing the condition beyond what can be seen in the fuzzy photos. If you can determine if it is in great condition you might go to $35 since in any event you going to have to get it restored which will cost you a mininum of about $35 assuming no replacement parts or heroic efforts are needed.

you don't show the bottom end of pen. As nib appears to be two tone, it could be early 3rd generation (single jewel), an anomalous 1946 3rd gen, or a 2nd gen (double jewel) pen.

If pretty clean, these retail around $125 and up, restored and guaranteed, with price affected by condition and by final details of evolutionary variant.

regards

david

Though it's already been pointed out that this vac is a later model vac and not a Golden Arrow,for the unknowing,here's why it wouldn't be a Golden Arrow:

-Golden Arrow didn't come in Azure Blue(this color wasn't in use until the early 40s)
-Golden Arrow didn't have a Blue Diamond clip(B/D clip--really guarantee--didn't come about until 1939;G/A born in 1932)
-Golden Arrow style of pen is "squarish" in looks;A/B Vac more rounded in its looks.

John

wow.. thank you all for the information! Unfortunately she never responded to my $25 offer, so I guess it's a dead deal.

I live near Baltimore so I might try to swing into the Washington DC Pen Supershow, August 7-10, and find something there. Seems like there's quite a turnout to those shows.

PS ..and thanks for putting this into the right forum!