Sure. I'll PM you, let's not make it too easy for those unscrupulous sellers out there.
Hello Peine11,
I would also be very much interested in how to identify a first year M700. All I know about are the monotone nib, the plain piston knob, no "AG925" engraved, four feathers, 4 digit zip code in the manual.
Pelikan seems to be a bit secretive about the serials. I have an idea as to creating a data bank to contain details such as
- number
- engraver
- pen details (nib, knob, AG925, ...)
I believe Pelikan will have coded something into the serial number. For instance, I have a very early M700 (with all abovementioned "early" features) with the serial 1 / L something (forgot the number, but it was 2 digits). The "1" might mean 1986 ("9" would then be 1994). The letter (in this case "L") could denote either a month, a 2-week period, or simply a lot or batch. Finally, I have never seen more than two digits in the number at the end. Possibly, batches are linmited to 99 pens. The engraver is CT, but I guess he has engraved the majority of the M700 sleeves.
If anybody is interested in maintaining such a data bank, I could supply some M700 and M710 serial numbers. Possibly, we can "break" the code. I am maintaining a similar list of Praktisix cameras and lenses. It does pay off informationwise.
Thanks,
Carsten