Case for the '51'

[mmlife]

Hi

 

Saw a '51' fountan Pen and Ball point set in light blue at an antique store in Australia. The FP was in perfect condition no marks and obviously very little use. The ball point had the usual use for a pen it's age. The inside of the 'original' case just said 'Parker', is that correct?

 

Both pens were engraved with a ladies name, nice gold engraving. What sort of discount would you attribute for engraving?

 

The FP was virtually perfect. The lid just 'shnicked' as it was taken off and put back on. Couldn't ink the pen but it looked very straight under a magnifier. The innards looked tobe in great condition. The preice wa A$85, would you buy it?

 

Regards

 

Michael

[RonB]

That's probably in the proper range; possibly a little on the high side? However, I don't know Australian prices. You might want to do a search on ebay for the Parker "51" and check the box that says "completed transactions" and then search. You'll see what primarily pen merchants (as opposed to the ones who sell everything) in Australia are selling similar items for. One usually pays more in a real retail store, of course.

 

The personal engraving is a matter of personal preference, I think. I don't like them and rarely bid on them. Others don't mind them a bit. If I had to guess, I would say the personalization would decrease the price by 10-20% generally.

 

I hope this helps. You'll probably get a better answer from someone who has more experience than I do. I only have a dozen or so Parker "51"s.

 

Ron

[mmlife]

Thanks Ron

 

All of the 51's that are in what looks to be original boxes are marked '51' in some way. Not many prices but it looks like $40-$50 for just the FP. Given that I only want the FP and the box is not original and engraved I'll let this one go. Thanks

 

Michael