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Folks Since 2009, i have been compiling notes on how to date Parker 51s. Now this is a rough guide to be sure, as information has been gleaned from Dave Shepherds excellent book, the forums and my own reasearch ( now having amassed over 130 P51s) Now Im absolutely certain that the guide below can be refined and polished (and would welcome any corrections, amendments, comments and/ or additions), but at least its a start, and has helped me date some of mine Cheers paul Parker 51 Chronology 1941 P 51 vacumatic double jewel (DJ) introduced in USA - distinct features could include: cap with high imprint near cap jewel, Aluminium jewels, speedline filler, imprint on blind cap, a range of unusual first year caps etc. First year SJ models with date code 1 are known, but are rare. 1942-1948 DJ and single jewel (SJ) made concurrently 1943 Parker started dating P51 nibs 1946-1947 P51 red band made 1947 Superchrome ink introduced Demi vac introduced England started production of P51 Vac in limited colours -india black, cedar blue, dove grey and cordovan brown ( have seen Q3 47 stamped on English pen, and i also have an english P51 vac in aero navy grey colour where the nib was stamped Q1 1949 and the barrel stamped with reg tm 640244, but the date stamp is impossible to find) blue diamond clip discontinued due to FTC ruling against lifetime warranty Plain arrow clip introduced (so called transitional clip 42 mm - intro Aug 47? - replaced blue diamond, 15 groves each side) 1948 USA ceased making P51 vacs USA start making aerometrics both in full and demi size Filler system had Press six times use superchrome ink 1949 England stopped making P51 vacs ( have seen one stamped Q4 1949) Presidential, Signet and Flighter ( with gold cap band) introduced in USA in Oct 49 P51 aero plum discontinued (made in 1948-9 only) 1950 P51 Special introduced with black jewel (black, usa burgundy, navy grey, teal blue. forest green added later, and so rarer) England started making P51 aerometrics in April 1950 - 4 colours were black, burgundy, teal and grey ( i also have an English P51 aero made with USA burgundy lucite) Press 4 times filler introduced Demi with the hooped filler system introduced 1951 Arrow clip shortened to 36 mm (number of feathers reduced to 12 each side) 1952 rolled silver cap with gold filled clip introduced in Englande 1953 No more dating on lucite aero barrels in USA Electropolishing of P51 nibs begins 1954 Jotter ball point introduced USA pens started stamping made in USA on aero caps 1955 Liquid lead pencil introduced (LL with diamond) 1956 Last year for English P51 aero lucite f pen and pencil barrels to be dated (latest seen is 6. = Q3 1956) Parker 61 introduced 1957 Signet renamed Insignia Use Superchrome ink removed from metal filler sleeve - now stamped either: use parker ink or use Quink ink Rotary pencil introduced 1958 Bandless flighter introduced (no gold filled cap band) Change of corporate logo ( to the halo logo - essentially 2 Ps back to back on a central vertical arrow shaft) Cartridge filling system introduced P51 Special renamed Standard 1959 Last year of Dating nib and metal P51 barrels in England Vent hole moves to side of barrel ( 1959-60) 1960 parker halo logo appears on P51 caps P51 Special cap changed - now has matte lustraloy finish, halo logo and clear jewel 1961 Demi models discontinued 1962 P51 Cartridge filler discontinued 4 finger clutch introduced ( inside cap) 1964 P51 imprinted on caps Cap lip removed ( from late 50s onwards, lipless caps were used in USA) 1965 New one piece metal filler sleeve introduced ( ie black plastic end piece now removed) 1969 P51 mark II introduced - with P61 type cap (with pearl jewel, longer clip with more feathers - 11 each side but longer) greater barrel taper with a flat end 1971 P51 mark III introduced - as Mk II, but with chrome jewel 1972 P51 ceased production in England 1978 P51 ceased production in USA