Looking For Help With Waterman 58 Red Ripple Evaluation

[marshall11]

Hello, all,

Well sometimes something nice just falls in your lap. I was contacted by a family friend about possibly purchasing a pen from their father's estate. Turns out it is a Waterman 58 Red Ripple in very respectable condition. My challenge is knowing what would be a reasonable Private Sale dollar amount fair to both parties. I am looking for assistance with this evaluation and suggestions for whom to contact about this, off the public forum. Just for fun here, I will attach some photos. Some brassing, the barrel logo is extremely faint, but the 58 can be seen on the end of the barrel. No major dings, dents, gouges, just even wear over the pen. Nib looks great, and the section separated from the barrel with ease. What a bruiser!!

 

Thanks in advance for any help!

[Sinistral1]

Nice pen!

[FarmBoy]

Around 1000

[Mauricio]

It is not possible to fully evaluate a pen based on a few pictures. Someone can guess, but there are chances of missing very important and critical aspects that tremendously affect the value of that pen.

 

The best way to fully evaluate a pen is by someone who knows that type of pen very well, and who is able to physically check it, check the state of all of its parts (correct parts, condition, not worn, altered, patched, etc), and who is able to write with that pen/nib. The type and condition of the nib will play a big part in it. The more flexible the nib, the smoother it writes, the more iridium it has, having an original Vs. a modified nib ... each and all of those factors will make that pen more valuable. Your pictures will not allow anyone to know whether that nib has a crack at its base or whether someone has done some patch work inside the pen, factors that will tremendously affect the value of the pen.

 

When I appraise pens from pictures, I appraise them low, allowing for a significant margin of error from an speculative assessment. Once you get into the more high end, rarer, and more collectable vintage pen models, finding correct parts is many times harder than finding complete pens ... and those correct spare parts cost an arm and a leg nowadays, if you can find them available for sale!

[marshall11]

Thanks to you all for the comments and input. I was able to get the pen for a reasonable price.

 

Best regards!