Parker 25 Variations

[dogpoet]

Interesting thread. I'd never noticed that my blue trimmed P25 flighter had an ink hole and my black one didn't...

[Shaughn]

Hi,

In the spirit of adding to the knowledge base, I have an obviously later P25 FP and Pencil, both with dimpled cap and "MADE IN UK" but with a code of IIP, a code that doesn't appear in the spreadsheet. I also have an earlier ballpen, "MADE IN ENGLAND" and with code TI. The ballpen was a birthday present in 1987. All have blue furniture.

 

I would be interested in knowing what date the FP and Pencil are, if anyone has a clue?

Graham

 

 

In IIP the 'P' stands for 1987, the II for the second quarter of that year.

In TI the T stands for 1985, the I for the fourth quarter.

 

The year letters are from 'QUALITY PEN' and repeat every ten years, the Q standing for 1980, 1990 200 etc., the U for 1981, 1991, 2001 etc., etc. more.

 

From 1980 till 1986 the year letter was followed by E, C, L or I, meanning resp. first to fourth quarter of the year, Starting in 1987, the year letter is preceded by III, II or I for the first, second resp. third quarter, and for logic's sake, nothing at all for the fourth quarter.

Edited January 26, 2010 by Shaughn

[axolotl66]

In IIP the 'P' stands for 1987, the II for the second quarter of that year.

In TI the T stands for 1985, the I for the fourth quarter.

 

The year letters are from 'QUALITY PEN' and repeat every ten years, the Q standing for 1980, 1990 200 etc., the U for 1981, 1991, 2001 etc., etc. more.

 

From 1980 till 1986 the year letter was followed by E, C, L or I, meanning resp. first to fourth quarter of the year, Starting in 1987, the year letter is preceded by III, II or I for the first, second resp. third quarter, and for logic's sake, nothing at all for the fourth quarter.

 

Shaughn, what an excellent post! Many thanks for the information. I do love my 25s, the ballpen was a 21st birthday present from my sister, it had obviously been hanging around in the shop for a year and a bit before it was bought!

 

Cheers

Graham

[ballpointpen]

I hope the table I have included below (and posted elsewhere on this site) helps Parker collectors decypher the letters on their pen caps.

 

Beginning in 1970 Parker in France and the UK began marking some of their pens on the trim or cap bands to allow for dating. Using the words "QUALITY PEN", one letter per year, followed by a quarter marker, allowing for dating within a ten year span. Parker used this system more and more and it was introduced in the US in 1979. The quarter marker changed in 1987 from ECLI to III, II, I or none (last quarter) according to the table below.

In 2000 the code again underwent a small change when the quarter switched sides with the year and there was a dot between them "Q.III"

Year Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

---------------------------------

1970 QE QC QL QI

1971 UE UC UL UI

1972 AE AC AL AI

1973 LE LC LL LI

1974 IE IC IL II

1975 TE TC TL TI

1976 YE YC YL YI

1977 PE PC PL PI

1978 EE EC EL EI

1979 NE NC NL NI Date coding begins in the US

1980 QE QC QL QI

1981 UE UC UL UI

1982 AE AC AL AI

1983 LE LC LL LI

1984 IE IC IL II

1985 TE TC TL TI

1986 YE YC YL YI

(change)

1987 IIIP IIP IP P

1988 IIIE IIE IE E

1989 IIIN IIN IN N

1990 IIIQ IIQ IQ Q

1991 IIIU IIU IU U

1992 IIIA IIA IA A

1993 IIIL IIL IL L

1994 IIII III II I

1995 IIIT IIT IT T

1996 IIIY IIY IY Y

1997 IIIP IIP IP P

1998 IIIE IIE IE E

1999 IIIN IIN IN N

(change)

2000 Q.III Q.II Q.I Q

2001 U.III U.II U.I U

2002 A.III A.II A.I A

2003 L.III L.II L.I L

2004 I.III I.II I.I I

2005 T.III T.II T.I T

2006 Y.III Y.II Y.I Y

2007 P.III P.II P.I P

2008 E.III E.II E.I E

2009 N.III N.II N.I N

 

Note, to add some confusion IE could denote Q1 in 1974 or 1984, or Q3 in 1988 or 1998

Regards

Graham Hogg

 

www.ballpointpen.co.uk

[axolotl66]

Graham,

that's just brilliant! My "original" P25 set is now dated nicely. Of course, me being me, I have to have a recently purchased "Made in England" P25 FP coded IE!

 

I can see that the production run for the P25 FP means mine could be a '74, '84 or '88, and that the "England" bit is replaced by "UK" by '87, so mine is either an '74 or '84 model... Shaughn's spreadsheet says that the change from "England" to "UK" on FPs had occurred by code IIY but that is 1996 so doesn't help me. Is there any way to narrow it down further?

 

Thanks

Graham R.

[Shaughn]

 

I can see that the production run for the P25 FP means mine could be a '74, '84 or '88, and that the "England" bit is replaced by "UK" by '87, so mine is either an '74 or '84 model... Is there any way to narrow it down further?

 

Thanks

Graham R.

 

Yes, and I think you gave the clue yourself

You said the tassie is dimpled, which is a Mk II cap. [Edit: no, you didn't.]

A 1974 production would have had a flat top, and near certain a vent hole in the nib.

 

Further, if you still have (or remember) the presentation box, a 1974 box must have been the one with the 'futuristic' computerletters saying Parker 25. [Edit: Ehrrrmmm... have you?]

 

Another thing on the cap: the early engravings were rather rough, while the later engravings are fine. I'll try to make a decent picture to show what I mean later tonight or tomorrow (also on the box).

 

Edit 2: (apart from some typo's and other pidgin)

This is the picture: note the difference between the early orange P25 right and the left pen (with year letter A, i.e. last quarter 1992, with a dimpled tassie). Between them a pre 1980 P25 (which has a dimpled tassie what would indicate a production between roughly 1977 and 1979)

 

http://i821.photobucket.com/albums/zz137/UncleShaughn/P25engravingsdetailed.jpg

 

The earliest box I meant appears on the previous page, post #12 (by Parkercrazy) on top, so I will not add a picture.

Edited January 28, 2010 by Shaughn

[axolotl66]

Hi Shaughn,

thanks for the info, unfortunately, it has no box, and it was only purchased recently so there are no memories either!

 

However... no, I didn't say the tassie was dimpled, but it is! No vent hole in the nib either, so all this means (doesn't it?) that it is an '84! It's most like the centre pen in your pic, with the finer "arrow and halo" logo.

 

many thanks for your help,

Graham R

[fibreglass_works]

I must said that is a good work and sharing here. Tks for everything and effort you guys have put in..... :clap1: :clap1: :clap1:

[finansista]

eBay

 

For those of you, fellow P25 lovers, who still look for this one. Two stripes present on this one though, so not of my interest...

 

BTW, has anyone come across a P25 with NE (1Q1979) date code? All mine either have none or 1981+ codes.

And regarding the things changing over the years. The logo on the clip seems to have 2 variants - thick and thin. Noticed that?

[Shaughn]

I have quite a few P25s dated QI for 1980, 4th Q. Until that year no date codes were inscripted on the P25.

 

You are right re the clip logo! But they seem to vary without consistency as far as I can see.

 

Going through the pile recently I also noticed that none of my matte black pens bear any date code although their production is allegedly post-1980. I am evil enough to think that Parker used damanged b-quality stainless steel under the epoxy layer. But then, the matte white comes dated 1984...

[Shaughn]

Something else on date codes, re post #24 :

 

I have a P25 fountain pen date coded 'PI'.

 

That is 4th Q either 1977 or 1987, yet in 1977 there were no date codes used and in 1987 the date code should have been 'P' because in 1987 the date code systemm was changed.

 

How to explain that?

Can it be that the decision to change has been made in 1987 and first effectuated in 1988, or is there a mistake made at the factory?

[baz666]

I have quite a few P25s dated QI for 1980, 4th Q. Until that year no date codes were inscripted on the P25.

 

Going through the pile recently I also noticed that none of my matte black pens bear any date code although their production is allegedly post-1980. I am evil enough to think that Parker used damanged b-quality stainless steel under the epoxy layer. But then, the matte white comes dated 1984...

 

Shaughn

 

You say "I also noticed that none of my matte black pens bear any date code although their production is allegedly post-1980."

 

Yet in post #17 your chart (below) states that the matt black started production in 1978

 

 

http://i821.photobucket.com/albums/zz137/UncleShaughn/prodP25.jpg

 

As for the one dated PI who knows?

 

In axolotl66 post #20 he states "I have an obviously later P25 FP and Pencil, both with dimpled cap and "MADE IN UK" but with a code of IIP"

 

Proving that by Q2 1987 Parker were using the changed dating system on the P25!

 

 

Regards

Paul.

[Shaughn]

Oops ... silly me :embarrassed_smile:

 

Indeed, Paul, I've been contradicting myself. And I have a matte black fibre tip marked UI (1981-4)and a matte black biro marked LE (1983-1). So my evil side stands corrected.

 

But this LE biro indicates also that my chart from a Parker source is not quite reliable: it says matte black stopped being produced in 1982.

 

Hm, there is still a lot of research to do.

[light]

I never noticed before how incredible the Parker 25 looked it is a great buy I saw one on ebay for about 55 bucks, it is a fine tip green from 1980 looks to be a fine buy.

[finansista]

light: In fact, I happen to have a nice green P25 for sale. I will let it go for less than $55. PM me if you are interested.

[enitsirhc]

very informative discussion, indeed!

 

I found my first Parker 25 in an old bookstore here in Manila - no longer in a pristine condition and I wasnt aware then of what kind/model of fountain pen it was - I just liked it because it was a bit odd looking.

 

I bought it for around 12 USD and because of this thread, I now realized that I am in a possession of a blue 1984 Parker 25 fountain pen - a pen as old as me! (dimpled tassie, Made in England, no production code)

 

I just dont know the size of the nib but I am guessing it has a fine nib.

 

Yesterday though, in an old pen store, same city, I found two Parker 25 (black) fountain pens with broad nibs. After haggling a bit, the seller gave it to me at 9 USD each - both uninked but I couldn't say it's that new and no longer have boxes. Apparently, they were from the same batch - IU (1991, Q3).

 

 

Thinking of going back to that store since they are selling a Parker Sonnet Cascade Gold for 100 USD (negotiable - depending on my ability and talent to haggle) and Parker 45 flighter fountain pens for 13 USD.

[jonwat]

I have no new information to add to this discussion.

 

The 25 is the only pen I bought that I never got a chance to use. It came in a box with matching ballpoint. Somehow I managed to snap off the bit inside the section when I tried to remove the filler to fit a cartridge. I was so disgusted with my own clumsiness I threw the whole thing into a bin. I still have the ballpoint in a drawer somewhere.

[enitsirhc]

here are my USD 9 (each) Parker 25 flighter fountain pens:

 

http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/263/10292010672.jpg

 

all with broad nib.

[richardandtracy]

Now that's a nice haul - I never saw any Broad nib pens when they were on sale in the UK.

I must try to find my black BP, not because I'll use it, but because it is somewhere safe... Oh dear.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[enitsirhc]

Now that's a nice haul - I never saw any Broad nib pens when they were on sale in the UK.

I must try to find my black BP, not because I'll use it, but because it is somewhere safe... Oh dear.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

 

thanks! I hope to find more Parker 25 fps!