A Surprise

[Cob]

This solid gold leverless has appeared on ebay, and the seller states that the hallmarks date it at 1938.

 

I was surprised to find that pens in this style were made as late as that date.

 

Cob

[Effin1]

I've recently purchased an 18ct gold overlay leverless but as it's from USA has no hall marks just 18k in several places so I have no date letter. It was just described as 1930s.

[da vinci]

It is certainly a good looking pen. How practical is it to use a pen like this?

 

If it is correct is it worth the price?

Edited December 19, 2015 by da vinci

[Effin1]

My pen is inked at the moment. I find it comfortable to use. I don't normally like metal sections but the deep lip stops my fingers slipping. I also like the feel of gold pens. I only use it in the home because I would hate to lose it. It actually looks no different than a gold fill so I doubt (unless they examined it closely) anyone just looking would consider it to be a relatively expensive pen.

I made an offer for mine and ended up paying £588.34 including postage. I have no idea if that was a competitive price.

My pen does have a personalisation which I love RENEE DANGER.

[da vinci]

My pen is inked at the moment. I find it comfortable to use. I don't normally like metal sections but the deep lip stops my fingers slipping. I also like the feel of gold pens. I only use it in the home because I would hate to lose it. It actually looks no different than a gold fill so I doubt (unless they examined it closely) anyone just looking would consider it to be a relatively expensive pen.

I made an offer for mine and ended up paying £588.34 including postage. I have no idea if that was a competitive price.

My pen does have a personalisation which I love RENEE DANGER.

Thank you for your helpful comments. Am very tempted

[Chrissy]

The year that a pen was hallmarked, would not necessarily be the year that it was made. Although, under normal circumstances, they would usually be very close

[Vintagepens]

Those gold and silver Leverless pens were sold all the way through to the end of the 1930s. British buyers were conservative in taste. Look at the WW2-era Parker Victories, identical in style to an early 1930s Duofold.

[Cob]

Thank you David,

 

Conservative indeed, I should think that the step clip (much as I like it) would have appeared very old-fashioned by 1938.

 

Going further back, I wonder now when Mabie Todd abandoned the dome tops - I assumed they stopped about 1923, but this discovery makes me ponder!

 

Best wishes

 

Cob

[missuslovett]

The hallmarks are indeed 1938. As Chrissy says, the hallmarks don't necessarily reflect the date of the pen. As with jewellery, there can be a slight disconnect between maker and retailer. Perhaps this was 'old stock' waiting for a sale?

[Vintagepens]

It's not uncommon to see these 1930s solid gold Swans with presentation inscriptions postdating the hallmarks by anywhere from a few to several years, which fits in with other testimony that such pens were not fast sellers.

 

I would contest the notion, however, that the hallmark dates differ to any meaningful degree from the date of manufacture. The hallmarks would have been struck on overlays and other precious metal parts *before* assembly. And under all normal circumstances, there would be no reason to hold those parts rather than promptly putting them together for sale. In the case of objects made entirely of precious metal, it was possible to manufacture them and then submit them for assay and hallmarking at a later date. This would not have been possible with pens.

[sidthecat]

That is a beauty; I've gotten my mitts on some equally pretty ringtops for a fraction of that price. They're not as desirable but they work great with my little hands.

 

It's hard to pay that kind of money for something you can't build a house on.

Edited January 14, 2016 by sidthecat

[chunya]

I'm glad that no-one was actually unkind about the pen (or the advert) as that is my Ebay 'shop'.

Da Vinci, the only thing that makes this pen slightly impractical is the filling mechanism; as with all these twist fill Swans they never seem to hold as much ink as they really should, hence making sure that the sac is as large a size as possible. Other than that, no real issues with practicality.

I don't want to break any rules, I don't always have the time to also post on the FPN classifieds page, but if any FPN member is interested in any pen they see on my Ebay page then they can PM me and there will always be at least a 10% discount taking into account no Ebay fees payable.

[Jamo]

That's a good tip I'll have a look now.