Don't know if this is a good deal or not, but to me it's a treasure:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=200252370601

Can't say if it is a good deal, as I live in Europe (different prices) and am not used to auctioning, but it is certainly a beautiful pen.
Nice clean documentation from the seller too.

I guess I would be happy with such a pen.

Have you put it on it's maiden inking and writing yet?

I suggest pulling out a nice bottle t celebrate.

Many hours of pleasure with this beauty.


D.ick

I just snagged off eBay today, so won't have it in hand for weeks. In the case of that particular size and finish, which I love, I went into it not really caring about true vale as it was valuable to me. I don't particularly care for older pens, preferring a modern M400 in that finish, but finding one has proven difficult. It will be among my M400 daily writers.

Sure looks like a treasure to me!!

400 double-n's are a hot number. When they become available, they disappear quickly. Rick Propas had a couple of them on his website recently -- http://www.thepenguinpen.com/pelikan/fspelikan/tort400s.html -- and he was asking $250. Of course, when he says "excellent condition," you can be absolutely certain that the pens are in great shape. Penkala, from whom you bought your pen, said Mint, so I'll be very interested to see if, in fact, you feel that their evaluation of the pen's condition is accurate. Notwithstanding, it would seem that the $190 you paid is a good deal.

Pelikans are terrific. I have a 140 that I bought from Rick and it's my favorite pen. I also bought an M400 in white tortoise from one of our colleagues on FPN and when I got it I realized that even the Fine nib on it was too broad for me. Chartpak switched it to an Extra Fine for me, and it's on its way west now. Of course, there's some concern that the EF nib may be scratchy, but I've heard this can go both ways, so I'm going to envision that it writes beautifully straight out of the box. If not, there's always Rick and/or Sir Richard...

Enjoy your new pen!

Johnny B.

Thanks Johnny. I, too, would be interested to see if the pen is truly mint, but frankly it will not be so for long if it is because I intend to ink that baby up and use it as soon as it arrives. My real concern is it is mint and unused and leaks from shrinkage of parts comprising the piston system. I would have been more excited had it been a relatively modern 400 ... the only thing I don't like is the bullet-shaped piston knob on the butt, which sets it apart from the flat ones on my 400s. Still, I had been lusting for a tortoise brown and now have one on the way.

That's a beauty of a pen.... and specially the nib. I don't own any vintage ones but I've tried one thanks to the generosity of a forum member, Piembi, and loved!. Good catch.

Hi,

Looks like a good price to me, colour and transparency look good and the box is unusual. The seller is pretty reliable looking at the feedback I have bid on a number of his pens and think I actually won one a couple of years ago.

Andy

Mike,
Please be reassured that you got a good buy from a first rate seller. I know Penkala and he is honest and reliable. I suspect that you will be more than pleased when the pen arrives and I'll share with you what my Pelikan mentor, Pelikanyo Paul, told me when I started with Pelikans over a decade ago, "If you like new Pelikans, you will love the old ones." And it's true. Good catch from the 'Bay!

I'm with Rick- Penkala Pens rules. I've purchased only one thing from him so far- an Artus Ballit 42, a Lamy sub-brand. While no claims where made as such, as far as I could tell, it was completely NOS. I don't think it was, but it looked like it just rolled off the assembly line. I'd buy all of my vintage Europeans pens from him, except his standard of pens and reputation tends to demand a premium.

You got a decent price for a 400NN, probably a great price when you factor in the box and fact that when Penkala says mint he meant mint- unlike a lot of sellers.

Congrats!

Congrats!
You will love this pen. The vintage tortoise are much more colourful than the brown-tortoise M400 and the nibs can be wonderful writers.

The green striped 400NNs are easy to find (o.k. I am living in Germany) but the tortoise pens are much harder to find and sought after. Especially in mint or near mint condition.

What a beautiful pen! I hope you enjoy it for a long time. I have a refurbished 400NN on its way from R. Binder, and I can't wait to use it. Someone here mentioned the 140 being one of their favorite writers (me, too). I love using my contemporary Pelikans, and I'm every bit as fond (if not more so) of my vintage Pelikans.

Thanks everyone for comments. The pen arrived quickly (days ago - just no time to really look at it until last night.) The seller is amazing and shipping was faster than expected from Bulgaria.

I am the sort of person who cares nothing about keeping a pen pristine. Usually I rip off tags, even for NOS vintage pens, ink them up and use them. This one, though, is so damn beautiful and looking quite the virgin with the sticker that I have not been able to do much more than admire it. Hopefully I'll come to my senses and peel off the sticker, fill it and bring it to work with me on Monday. I must be growing sentimental in my old age.

Awesome pen! Don't have a tortoise, but someday... If you do decide not to rip it off, you can get something a bit more userpenish for less. Not sure if you want a pen to look mint, but the 400NN I bought from Savas at PenAntique.com and I was very happy. it was a green stripe 400NN, which can be had for $40-100 less than a tortoise.

/me just won the weirdest "Pelikan 400NN" on eBay. Let's just say that I'm happy I only paid ~$20 for it.

Aaron

I think I would have been better off getting an M400 in tortoise, then I would not feel as though I was about to desecrate something I have another day to screw up the courage to rip that sticker off and start writing with it. Funny, I was never like this before. Must be getting old or something.

rip it off, ink it up. that's why they were made. if you want to collect things to admire but not touch consider coins or art. its like owning a great album or cd from a composer/artist you love and not listening to it?????

now....that doesn't mean you can't love it gently as you use it....say like the sterling silver optima i bought from you but rest assured its inked and used regularly!

Randy

I agree and my approach to pens is they are writing instruments, not dust collectors. This one, though, seems a shame to disturb from its NOS condition. Fortunately, I have a few more newly arrived pens that I am using, so I can put off inking it for another week or so.