What's The Most Expensive Fountain Pen You Ever Bought?

[tgoto]

I've consciously kept my pens under $200 or so.

Most expensive would be a tie between:

M400 brown tortoise modern

MB 1 danish button filler from 30s

MB 244 from the late 40s

Great pens!

[tgoto]

Up until this past spring I was similar to siamackz as far as price point. That kinda went to you-know-where-in-a-handbasket the end of March, when due to some extenuating circumstances which will probably *never* happen again, I had a PEN SHOPPING BUDGET. So I did my best impression of a friend of mine, who is normally somewhat notoriously frugal, but every once in a great while goes on a spree. Or, as her boyfriend puts it: "Watch out! Judith is going to be spending money like a drunken sailor!"

So I had (for me) a GINORMOUS amount of money that I could designate to spend on pens and inks. It will probably never happen again, unless I win the lottery.... And so I ended up buying more pens than I expected to, but the big ticket items (and those two pens took up a considerable chunk of that budget) were a couple of M405s -- a striated Blue with an EF nib and one of the Anthracite Stresemanns with a B nib. Both were on my "Ooh, really want...." list. Were they worth it? Absolutely. They're a joy to write with -- especially the one with the EF nib, which surprised me a bit.

Mind you I'm still a cheapskate at heart -- last week I was in a thrift store that specializes in craft supplies (which is a great idea -- the store is called Creative Reuse). And spent a buck on what turned out to be a Cross Verve with a steel B nib. Didn't even know what it was, but it looked okay and, well, it was a buck.... Turns out that because the pen was discontinued (after the amount of ink on my hands when I went to flush it out the first time and then tried to write with what ink had been reconstituted in the feed, I suspect I know WHY it was discontinued after only 4 years ). But the nib is pretty decent, if you don't mind nails for nibs ); and there's one on eBay at the moment which looks almost identical to mine except for the nib width -- and the seller is asking $350 US for it..... No clue what the original list price for the model was, but, like I said, it was worth paying a buck for it....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Now that's a great deal!

I have to start going to thrift stores more.

My main sources of getting pens have been comparing between an auction site and online shopping...not necessary do I find good deals there.

[Freddy]

Hello Everyone,

 

What's the most expensive fountain pen you've ever bought?

 

Thanks

 

Sky Fountain Pens..last here on August 23, 2015. When you come back...here you go.......

 

Fred

 

Back at ya Sky FPs..........Scientia potestas est......More than you'll ever know...............................

[Freddy]

.

Edited July 27, 2017 by Freddy

[siamackz]

Great pens!

Thank you sir!

[inkstainedruth]

Now that's a great deal!

I have to start going to thrift stores more.

My main sources of getting pens have been comparing between an auction site and online shopping...not necessary do I find good deals there.

 

Well, I think that was a fluke (and it also wasn't a "normal" thrift store like Goodwill (all I've ever seen in places like that were bags of ballpoints...).

I have sometimes gotten good deals at antiques stores and the occasional estate sale, but I often also find dreck. Went in a place a few days ago and saw a couple of Sheaffer school pens (you find those a LOT around the Pittsburgh area) and some Wearevers, plus a sad looking Esterbrook with no cap or feed (and the nib looked pretty mangled ), and an overpriced Arnold. Oh, and some other third tier brand stylograph style pen. But I did have a nice chat about pens with the kid unlocking cases for me, who said he liked Parker Vacs and Conklin crescent fillers.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[neugeekig]

Just bought it.

My grail pen: Montblanc Meisterstück Solitare Platinum Plated Facet.

 

Got it only slightly used in a very good shape for 675 $.

 

Edited August 1, 2017 by neugeekig

[tgoto]

 

Well, I think that was a fluke (and it also wasn't a "normal" thrift store like Goodwill (all I've ever seen in places like that were bags of ballpoints...).

I have sometimes gotten good deals at antiques stores and the occasional estate sale, but I often also find dreck. Went in a place a few days ago and saw a couple of Sheaffer school pens (you find those a LOT around the Pittsburgh area) and some Wearevers, plus a sad looking Esterbrook with no cap or feed (and the nib looked pretty mangled ), and an overpriced Arnold. Oh, and some other third tier brand stylograph style pen. But I did have a nice chat about pens with the kid unlocking cases for me, who said he liked Parker Vacs and Conklin crescent fillers.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

It is a nice experience chatting about pen when it is a face-to-face transaction, which I am lacking.

At the same time, I guess the disappointment might be deeper when one drives all the way to find that the pens are not in good shape...

Either way, I should interact more to find some good deals

[tgoto]

Just bought it.

My grail pen: Montblanc Meisterstück Solitare Platinum Plated Facet.

 

Got it only slightly used in a very good shape for 675 $.

 

Nice pen!

[kiavonne]

I figured I'd already responded to this thread, but then realized the origin date was after my retirement and after my latest surgery. Money got tight.

 

Some years ago, when Winedoc was still the go between for Danitrio, I had a pair of custom maki-e pens created for me. They are gorgeous, special, and bound to me emotionally as well as artistically, and they are the most expensive pens I have ever purchased. I hope one day my niece will take care of them after I've gone.

[hinky]

The most expensive pen I recently bought was a Parker Sonnet (Matte Black, gold plated s.s. nib). I got it because I wanted to have matching pens with my mom (she has a 90s Sonnet Cisele that I used to play with when I was young). Since I got into law school (Yay! I passed the entrance test), I thought it would be a nice back to school gift for myself. Ironically, school started a while back and I still haven't brought it with me. I'm so scared I might lose it 😂

[brittshideler]

I briefly had a Pelikan maki-e Spring and Autumn. I sold it. It was too pretty. I use all of my pens. After trying many pens, expensive and inexpensive, custom and mass-produced, I found my perfect pen and bought a set of 7 and sold everything else. Wahl-Eversharp Decoband. (In fact, if anyone has a Decoband Demonstrator they want to sell, please lets talk.)

I realized I am not actually a collector but a writer who likes fountain pens. Collecting was only an expensive procrastination. I need to grab a pen and get working so having multiple of the same pen works for me. Decobands fill easily and feel the same every time. They dont need to be babied or kept in the dark. I keep all 7 inked.

[praxim]

It was not the first fountain pen I bought to use, nor the second I bought to replace it, but the third, which appears to have entailed pens 4 to N.

[JotterAddict62]

The most I ever paid for a used P51 cordovan brown DJ set at an estate auction $200. [ and it needed restoring. ]

I did buy a lot of 5-6 pens for $80 at the same auction and found out when I got home I had a P51 plum in the lot.

This was back in 2013.