How To Assess Value Of Vintage Gold Nibs

[tgirish1231]

Friends how do you assess the value of vintage gold nibs. My focus is primarily India made gold nibs and for ease of understanding I would categorize them into two

1) Handmade with limited production like Brahmam,Ratnam, Ratnamsons, Guider etc.

2) Mass produced like Pilot India, Swan India, Waterman's India etc.

 

Is it as simple as weight of the nib * percentage of gold * today's gold rate * premium ( varies based on age, rarity etc).

 

What would be an acceptable premium...

 

 

I understand that there is no straight answer, but would like to know your views.

Edited October 28, 2020 by tgirish1231

[Parker51]

My perspective is a nib, any nib is it should be valued primarily based on its writing characteristics. Given the traditionaly high price of gold however some gold nibs may be structurally weaker than others as they may be thinner, may have cut outs, or may be shorter in some places than other gold nibs and thus be more prone to breakage. And, do not forget the tipping material as heavily worn or missing tipping material will negatively effect the nibs writing characteristics and thus its value. And finaly, their is the matter of appearence. Some nibs are more attractive than others. This is subjective, but a plane nib may not be as interesting as an engraved one, depending on the pen it will be see in. Sometimes however a plain unadorned nib is preferable with certain pens, so I would rate engravings as a less important factor than the others.

 

Now, in regard to the "spot price" of gold. Gold is used for a variety of purposs, some based not on its utility and value as a material, but based on a hope other people will want it so much that they will give you many things of value, especially if you are having some problems are unable to generate income sufficient to meet your needs. That idea while appearing to be a way of saving is not. It actually is a way of speculating, some do this on a small scale and some on a large scale.

 

As populations age and the older generations die off many things that once had value drop in value, sometimes to nothing as those who desired it are gone. The same happens in regard to changes in technology. Will this happen with gold, unlikely totally as it does have some unique characteristics, but could it decrease significantly in price, yes. Today in many places men wear little gold jewelry. This could happen wih wmen as well. My own daughter wears little gold jewelry. It does not match her lifestyle, her self image, nor what she wants to project towards others.

 

In regard to Fountain Pens, it appears to me that due to a variety of factors, they have retained their value while other antiques and collectables have not. Entire categories of antiques have had significant value declines, notably Crystal, Porcelain and Furniture to name a few. In the realm of basic and lixury consumer goods there have also been declining prices against historic prices when factoring in inflation in watches and jewelry, with only rare and highly collectable watches and jewelry, currently including that made of gold, silver amd platinum holding significant value still.

 

And, don't forget that if signifcant new gold deposits are discovered, or low cost methods of extraction from mine trailings and other low concentration sources are discovered the raw price of gold will drop.

 

So my suggestion, value the nibs for what they are and can do and not what amount you might get from selling them to someone who might melt them down. A nib is a manufactured product and in good serviceable condition will continue be more valuable as a nib than the raw materials they were made from for as long as people value Fountain Pens.

[silverlifter]

A loupe and then dip test.

[bk123]

This is an interesting question. In my opinion, pen price depends more on its Brand than the carat/weight of gold used in its nib. It also depends on specialty nibs like Sailor Naginata creations and so on. I believe it's very hard to gauge the price of the pen based on its gold nib 18K or 14K.

[Dimy]

I go with bk123 stance and personally I have never owned a gold nib, too new here but I do know that vintage pens are never judged for nib alone or even when in case of nibs, for simple reasons like weight of nib or carat of gold and if I was buying then I would not judge them on these basis either. Nibs as said above can have specialty criteria of judgements or something that was very limited produced and was high in demand or something that cannot be produced in large numbers.

 

Let me play and example here, there are nibs by Regalia, each special in their own right and if the person eventually stops then these nibs down the line will become much more valuable then they are today....same can be seen with specialty nibs of sailor...we already see trend of jack up prices..imagine 20 years down the line.

 

Now when entire pen is considered then nib if not special becomes usually second point and pen takes the first stage, take any Nakaya or Namiki for example, all are expensive and yes customization is possible but I am sure people are not paying for the nibs here and Nakaya uses a 14K nib while Namiki 18K (correct me here if I am wrong).

 

Now for Indian pens most are vintage mass produced should not cost a fortune (mass produced rarely do).

Handmade ones are different story, First is finding them in good condition then someone willing to part with them (much harder if you ask me), now say Ratnam which produced a 18K gold pen until recently and silver pen, these are still not vintage class but 15 years down the line the buyers will not be looking for nib if they want the specific pen.

 

Now we all have our own way of judging things as you said above yourself so go ahead with the your feeling how can it be wrong as you yourself will be the one using the pen, so go with whichever vintage ticks your heartstrings.

 

Of course all is my personal opinion so feel free to comment of judge I enjoy both sides...plus my experience with gold nibs (or general lack of it).

 

Cheers.

 

EDIT- Welcome on FPN.

Edited October 28, 2020 by Dimy

[tgirish1231]

Thank you everyone for the insightful comments. I concur with your views. I am currently searching for vintage nibs in good condition and planning to get custom pens done to suit them. At this moment focussing on India made gold nibs as completing my collection looks more realistic considering that there were very few manufacturers of gold nibs in India