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How Much To Pay For Vintage (But Working) Parker Pens?


AnUprightMan

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I'm relatively new to fountain pens, and I was wondering if I could get some advice from the more experienced veterans

Assuming working condition, one or two scratches or dings, no engraving, how much would you expect/be willing to pay for the following pens in good enough condition?

 

Parker 21

Parker 45

Parker 51

Parker 61



and any other vintage Parker pens I missed

 

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I have all of these, but acquired more than three or four years ago. What would the same acquisition cost today ?

Parker 21 $40 This is a budget version of a P51. I don't like it. I wouldn't want it for $0.00 ..

Parker 45 $25 I love this pen. I have twenty. I have given away a dozen. + or - $8, depending on condition

Parker 51 $80 This is the standard for good writing. For a well-restored P51, I'd pay $50 more.

Parker 61 $100 $15 more for a "sleek one". $50 less for one converted to a cartridge pen.

 

With my preferences and prejudices, these would be my maximum bids on Ebay. Priority Mail shipping in the USA

would not exceed $6 . It includes shipping carton and tracking. Additional charges for a wad of newspaper, and

writing an address on the box, will vary.

 

You won't have to outbid me. I have enough.

Auf freiem Grund mit freiem Volke stehn.
Zum Augenblicke dürft ich sagen:
Verweile doch, du bist so schön !

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According to my experience 61s are usually cheaper than 51s. The brittle plastic, cumbersome capillary filling system, weak arrows over the nib... too many problems for a single pen model. $60 should be enough for a good specimen.

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Parker 21 Super $25 I have recently bought NOS dark blue for less than $20

This is an OK pen, often a nice smooth writer.

I would pay less for the regular 21. Last one I bought this year was $12.

 

Parker 45 $25 Recently bought one black, gold trim and 14K M nib for $25.

I don't think I will ever buy another, nibs not so smooth.

 

Parker 51 $40 to $80 for a working pen in excellent condition. You can find them.

Best of these Parkers. Probably as good as any.

 

Parker 61 $40 and up English models write smoother, more tipping.

Edited by pajaro

"Don't hurry, don't worry. It's better to be late at the Golden Gate than to arrive in Hell on time."
--Sign in a bar and grill, Ormond Beach, Florida, 1960.

 

 

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Parker 45 $25 Recently bought one black, gold trim and 14K M nib for $25.

I don't think I will ever buy another, nibs not so smooth.

 

Parker 51 $40 to $80 for a working pen in excellent condition. You can find them.

Best of these Parkers. Probably as good as any.

 

 

 

I have all of these, but acquired more than three or four years ago. What would the same acquisition cost today ?

 

Parker 45 $25 I love this pen. I have twenty. I have given away a dozen. + or - $8, depending on condition

Parker 51 $80 This is the standard for good writing. For a well-restored P51, I'd pay $50 more.

 

 

With my preferences and prejudices, these would be my maximum bids on Ebay. Priority Mail shipping in the USA

would not exceed $6 . It includes shipping carton and tracking. Additional charges for a wad of newspaper, and

writing an address on the box, will vary.

 

You won't have to outbid me. I have enough.

 

Oh, ok. So I'm not too off with my own price ranges..

.

This week I went on a shopping spree on eBay, paid $38 for a 51 shipped, good condition, gold nib (I think), except it has a scratch on the cap (oh, well. $38's not bad) and $15 for a 45, which I like, but I haven't inked it yet, and I fear the nib might be a bit scratchy. Also, the 45 is a bit on the lighter side (which I don't like)

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  • 9 months later...

New to this forum. I started using fountain pens a number of years back to try and improve my handwriting, and to slow down the process for better control. I've had a couple of low cost pens that I use, mostly a Conklin med point that I got online from Fahrney's. I decided I needed a fine point, but didn't want to spend a lot. I found a Parker 21 on eBay, and picked it up for $14, shipped. It's a little rough cosmetically, but it really does write well. I'm looking to make this my daily pen for work. It looks like I got a good deal. I may start getting more, so I thought I'd join the forum. So far, it's provided a good deal of useful information.

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Only have experience with the 45 - both standard and Flighter. Mine are terrific, whether 14k medium or something finer in steel.

Brad

"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind" - Rudyard Kipling
"None of us can have as many virtues as the fountain-pen, or half its cussedness; but we can try." - Mark Twain

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Oh, ok. So I'm not too off with my own price ranges..

.

This week I went on a shopping spree on eBay, paid $38 for a 51 shipped, good condition, gold nib (I think), except it has a scratch on the cap (oh, well. $38's not bad) and $15 for a 45, which I like, but I haven't inked it yet, and I fear the nib might be a bit scratchy. Also, the 45 is a bit on the lighter side (which I don't like)

If your nib is scratchy, first align the tines, then if it's still scratchy, smooth the nib. Do a search of the forums. Look on Richard Binder's website for instructions.

"Don't hurry, don't worry. It's better to be late at the Golden Gate than to arrive in Hell on time."
--Sign in a bar and grill, Ormond Beach, Florida, 1960.

 

 

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1st, if I were you? I would try and stay away from the bay when trying to purchase one of these pens in "Good Working Order" I would......Purchase one of these pens in "Good Working Order" from one of the sellers right here on FPN, or Pentrace or FPGeeks where the sellers are more than upstanding as a general rule! Yes, you might pay a bit more than the Bay, but look at what you'll be getting? At times you may be getting a warranty, if not you will be dealing with an upright seller that you may know, something that you may not get with the Bay. I'm not bashing the bay, just trying to lay some facts out.....

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While 51s and 61s often need a bit of repair, in my experience P45s are always 'working' when you get them - there's simply not much that can go wrong. I did buy one that was entirely clogged up with what looked like drawing ink - three days' soaking cured that! And P45s often sell for relatively little on flea markets simply because they don't look very 'vintage' or blingy, and are unassuming pens, compared for instance to a Waterman Laureat or a bright celluloid Wearever.

Too many pens, too little time!

http://fountainpenlove.blogspot.fr/

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I just paid $49 yesterday on evilbay for a gray 51 (Seller called it Dk Green, but I bet it's gray) . I have 51's that I've paid a lot more for and many that I've paid less for.

The reason I bought was the price and color as I gave away a gray one as a graduation present to a family friend.

 

45's $15-20 or less for most, they are an incredibly good value. MK1's are Bullet-proof great writers. Only con: very slim grip.

 

Sasha- I bought a 21 set that looks like NOS at an antique mall in Dallas not long ago for $12.00...It's not bad, but it's not a 51! I found a Cordovan 51 w/Gold cap at the same place for $25 that cleaned up like new.

 

AUM- they are out there. half the fun is finding them! <---Edit: Sorry, this was aimed at gweimer1;s more recent post.

Edited by Hooker56

"Not a Hooker Hooker, but rather a left-handed overwriter."

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Sasha- I bought a 21 set that looks like NOS at an antique mall in Dallas not long ago for $12.00...It's not bad, but it's not a 51! I found a Cordovan 51 w/Gold cap at the same place for $25 that cleaned up like new.

 

AUM- they are out there. half the fun is finding them!

 

Clayton, I think there were 2 versions before the 21 Super came out in it's 2 versions. The Super has the tube nib of the 51 Special and the same collector. Ernst has said it's the closest to a 51 and I agree. The last version of the Super, that I think Peyton Street had the lot of went to the concave clutch ring like the 51. The Super I just had had the same convex clutch ring of the earlier models before the Super. I think the plastic is better in the Super than the early version but it's still not Lucite. I think some are figuring out the Super is the poor man's 51 and I say rightly so. Their prices are edging up a bit over the Earlier versions. There are some that get all aroused over the early versions ball clip and I won't argue that but the Rest of that early model pen was pretty inferior to the last version of the Super.

 

I got my buddy in Canada a Black minty 1st version Super about 3 weeks ago. $13 shipped and I'd call it a 9.0, 10 being NOS. I've since seen the Supers around $20 or more. I gave it a full flush and soak out and polished the plastic and it looked and wrote like new. With my eyes closed I couldn't tell it writing different than any 51. The Super version with the concave clutch, when you squint blur the P-45 Arrow on the clip, you can hardly tell it's not a 51.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

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Okay. It's been ten months. Which have you gotten, and how much did they cost ?

Auf freiem Grund mit freiem Volke stehn.
Zum Augenblicke dürft ich sagen:
Verweile doch, du bist so schön !

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Bruce- The 21 described above is almost surely a 1st Gen. as it has the ball clip, parallel clutch ring and very thin hood. But like I said, it is in pristine condition...Pli Glas sac looks like it was installed yesterday. It's an X fine and I don't usually write with one so it's hard for me to compare to my 51 nibs. Come to think of it, I think I just dipped it after I cleaned it. I don;t think I've inked it. Nice to have in my stable as it's the only one I've got ;) .

"Not a Hooker Hooker, but rather a left-handed overwriter."

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I once paid 1900 for a broken 51. But it was, special.

San Francisco International Pen Show - The next “Funnest Pen Show” is on schedule for August 23-24-25, 2024.  Watch the show website for registration details. 
 

My PM box is usually full. Just email me: my last name at the google mail address.

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I have all of these, but acquired more than three or four years ago. What would the same acquisition cost today ?

Parker 21 $40 This is a budget version of a P51. I don't like it. I wouldn't want it for $0.00 ..

Parker 45 $25 I love this pen. I have twenty. I have given away a dozen. + or - $8, depending on condition

Parker 51 $80 This is the standard for good writing. For a well-restored P51, I'd pay $50 more.

Parker 61 $100 $15 more for a "sleek one". $50 less for one converted to a cartridge pen.

 

With my preferences and prejudices, these would be my maximum bids on Ebay. Priority Mail shipping in the USA

would not exceed $6 . It includes shipping carton and tracking. Additional charges for a wad of newspaper, and

writing an address on the box, will vary.

 

You won't have to outbid me. I have enough.

I paid 280 bucks for a nos p51 (teal, roll gold cap).

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I once paid 1900 for a broken 51. But it was, special.

 

At Least tell us what it was eh?

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

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At Least tell us what it was eh?

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

If I remember correctly, his sister is on Page 53 but I'll check to be sure.

San Francisco International Pen Show - The next “Funnest Pen Show” is on schedule for August 23-24-25, 2024.  Watch the show website for registration details. 
 

My PM box is usually full. Just email me: my last name at the google mail address.

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Only one Special on Pg 53...and that one ain't so special even at $19.00 in today's prices...

 

Just not in a giving mood, huh?

"Not a Hooker Hooker, but rather a left-handed overwriter."

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$280 for a NOS 51. Teal. Rolled gold cap. That's a lotta moola for a Teal, NOS or not.

"Don't hurry, don't worry. It's better to be late at the Golden Gate than to arrive in Hell on time."
--Sign in a bar and grill, Ormond Beach, Florida, 1960.

 

 

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