Half Balance Vs Flat Top With Mismatched Cap?

[sanesangowdayya]

So after doing a search I found out that half balances were actually catalogued by Sheaffer in a 1930 advertisement. However, is there any way back distinguish a mismatch between balance cap and flat top body vs a half balance?

 

I have two pens here recently acquired, the half balance is a bit under 5" long and the ringtop is around 4.5". Ringtop has very nice color but unfortunately the larger balance is quite discolored.

[Roger W.]

Half balances are, of course, almost never provable. The only instance that you can ever state that it is a true half balance is if it has the original price sticker on the bottom of the barrel with the appropriate code,

 

Roger W.

[3rdlakerobert]

The Summer 2002 issue of Pennant (magazine of the Pen Collectors of America and available online in their archives) contains an article by Sherryll Tyree on the Half Balance. She list the following characteristics:

 

• White dot on cap but not on barrel
• Solid lever rather than channeled
• Pinned lever rather than attached to internal ring
• Long humped clip
• Flat comb feed
• Large Lifetime nib with numbers
• Regular size was 4 5/8"

 

She cites 7 sources.

 

I have no idea if there are more current articles on this but Google is there willing and able to help. By the way, membership in PCA is cheap and provides access to the archives, as well as subscription to their excellent magazine.

[Roger W.]

The Summer 2002 issue of Pennant (magazine of the Pen Collectors of America and available online in their archives) contains an article by Sherryll Tyree on the Half Balance. She list the following characteristics:

 

• White dot on cap but not on barrel
• Solid lever rather than channeled
• Pinned lever rather than attached to internal ring
• Long humped clip
• Flat comb feed
• Large Lifetime nib with numbers
• Regular size was 4 5/8"

 

She cites 7 sources.

 

I have no idea if there are more current articles on this but Google is there willing and able to help. By the way, membership in PCA is cheap and provides access to the archives, as well as subscription to their excellent magazine.

Catalog half balances have those characteristics, sure. But, that you can take any flat top bottom and add it to a balance cap of the period and get the same result is my point. It may never have been a half balance in the first place. As flattops were sold into the 1940's there is no guaranty that Sheaffer didn't sell late half balances as well and there is no documentation for either. The only thing absolutely provable is a flattop barrel with a half balance code otherwise you just have a flattop barrel that may or may not have ever been a half balance. Also there was the large size 8AC and a ring top 74AR beyond the standard 74AC - the "A" being the distinguishing code for the half balance.

 

Roger W.

[pen lady]

Interesting information Roger. Are those codes on the pens and if so where please?

[Roger W.]

Interesting information Roger. Are those codes on the pens and if so where please?

The codes are only on the pens if the original price sticker is still affixed.

[pen lady]

Well, gosh darn-it!

[Roger W.]

Well, gosh darn-it!

I know right? You have to have a pen barrel with the original price sticker otherwise it can't be proved that it is not a marriage. Now if you want something really funny I have a K74AR - so marked. K is for black and pearl, 74 is the regular size, A is the operative for half balance and R for ringtop. Only problem is that the cap has a clip and no ringtop! So the sticker indicates that it is a marriage though it could have come from the factory that way.

 

I don't have a pic of the sticker but, here is a set of Sheaffer Secretary stickers,

 

Roger W.