Parker 75 good deal or not?

[ReverendPen]

So I picked up a mint (or near mint) Parker #75 Sterling Silver - Cisele for $35 (medium nib). Soaked the section in h20 for an hour bought some parker carts and she writes just fine. Was $35 a good deal? I also got a Parker Deluxe challenger (date code 45) for $15 (it needs a new sac other than that it is in fine condition.) How can I tell what year the 75 was made?

 

Thanks

[jar]

The 75 was a great deal. Dating it though can be difficult. There were slight changes over time, the tassie, the coloring of the grid, but it can be a challenge.

[gyasko]

You can date a first year 75 from the metal section threads. After that, it can be fuzzy. The early pens have flat tassies and a 0 mark on the section. These disappear around 1970 or so. French production started in the early 1970s. US production ended in 1983. The later pens use the QUALITY PEN code on the cap band. The last ones were made in 1993.

[Glenn-SC]

Great deal!

 

congratulations

[jakelogan]

A very good deal. They normally go for around $100-150 but one in a good condition can go to $200.

 

For dating a pen, look at the tassies - some are flat, some not.

 

The style of the pen body an also reflect the time period.

[ReverendPen]

Thanks much. I almost passed it up..something about the cap saying sterling silver and the nib being in great shape just called me. The section is plastic and does not have the metal threads. the tassies are flat but there is a "divet" for lack of better words in the center. the top has a sticker with F on it and the bottom has no sticker. I saw somewhere that Parker sold stickers to personalise these pens.

 

Did Parker make a special converter for the 75?

 

 

Any thoughts on the Parker deluxe challenger? there does not seem to be much info on the web about these, though there is stuff on the Royal challengers.

 

thanks again.

[gyasko]

Sounds like a later pen. Is it made in USA or France? parker75.com has all sorts of info on the 75.

[View from the Loft]

Yes, sounds like a good deal. And I thought I did well getting one for £60 (mind you, although described as good condition, I would have said this one had never seen ink before - it was mint )

[jar]

 

Did Parker make a special converter for the 75?

 

 

 

Nope, standard converter.

[WendyNC]

While it will use any Parker converter, including the modern ones, it's nice if you can get a bullnosed converter as I think they hold a little more ink.

 

I've shamelessly borrowed an excellent image of one posted by Rabbit in this thread.

 

 

 

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4024/4314876755_679245b1ee_o.jpg

 

 

 

Edited to add congratulations on getting an excellent deal.

Edited April 11, 2010 by WendyNC

[flodoc]

So I picked up a mint (or near mint) Parker #75 Sterling Silver - Cisele for $35 (medium nib). Soaked the section in h20 for an hour bought some parker carts and she writes just fine. Was $35 a good deal? I also got a Parker Deluxe challenger (date code 45) for $15 (it needs a new sac other than that it is in fine condition.) How can I tell what year the 75 was made?

 

Thanks

 

Go to http://parker75.com/ for the date codes of Parker 75s. Some 75s do not have date codes, but most do. You got a great buy on one of my favorite pens (and my first of many). The date code is found on the cap band.

[nvbrennan]

Good find. I have a flighter I picked up for even less but there much less desirable than the cisele as far as I understand.

[gyasko]

Good find. I have a flighter I picked up for even less but there much less desirable than the cisele as far as I understand.

 

The flighter is my favourite. I had to grow into the crosshatch. I'm OK with the grid now, but it wasn't love at first sight.

[baz666]

I have a flighter I picked up for even less but there much less desirable than the cisele as far as I understand.

 

 

That would depend on how many tassies the Flighter had and what its nib was made of .

 

Paul.

[Bill Smith]

You made off like a bandit at $35 for a 75, enjoy in good health.

[thepianolist]

Just bought a first year 75 and thought I would share some pictures to show differences from later years. The biggest difference is the section with the metal threads. There is a "0" on the end of the section. The tassies are flat and the clip fits inside a cut-out in the cap tassie. There may be even more subtle differences you experts can point out.

 

Bryant StottParker 75.bmp

Parker 75 - Section.bmp

Parker 75 - Nib.bmp

Parker 75 - Tassies.bmp