Help Identifying Waterman Ideal

[theodore94]

Hi,

 

I'm a fairly new pen collector. I bought this at a flea market this morning for $50 b/c my brother bought my a silver Ideal last year, and I thought I could start an "ideal" section to my collection of antiques. Pretty happy with my purchase, but I don't know a ton about it. As you can see, it came with a box with a cool message from 1919.

 

Description:

 

It's orange and brown that looks a bit wood-like. It is a ring pen, but it's missing the ring. The lever has the "IDEAL" globe. The nib says "WATERMAN'S IDEAL REGUS PAT OFF" The nib is gold color.. but I don't think it's gold. I'll try to attach some pictures.

 

ANOTHER PEN:

 

The lady I bought it from had another Waterman she was selling for $50 that she said was slightly older -- it didn't say "IDEAL" but it had the same ring around the lever. It was an orange ring pen that said "WARRANTED 14KT" on the nib (I didn't see that it said Waterman anywhere, actually). If this was a good deal, I'm thinking about getting that one too, if anyone knows anything about it. I tried searching online... it looks a little like the Waterman Supremacy (http://blog.peytonstreetpens.com/nib-of-the-month-wet-noodle-warranted-8-on-an-oversized-supremacy/) but it was an orange ring pen and it didn't say "Supremacy." Any ideas on that one??

[theodore94]

Just to clarify -- I'd love help identifying both the pen pictured and, if possible, the other pen the saleswoman had. Do you guys think it was a good deal?

[theodore94]

Another picture...

[kirchh]

Woodgrain pen is likely a Waterman 52-1/2V (see the number stamped on the bottom end of the barrel) from the mid-1920s, approximately. Nib is 14K gold.

 

The other pen is not a Waterman, nor is the Supremacy pen to which you linked. Those are 2nd or 3rd-tier pens with generically marked 14K nibs. The ringtop you saw is not, in my opinion, worth $50.

 

--Daniel

Edited May 23, 2016 by kirchh

[theodore94]

Hi Daniel

 

You're absolutely right! It says 52 1/2 V on the bottom. Was it a good deal do you think?

[theodore94]

I'm not really interested in selling... just want to make sure I'm doing well when I buy them at flea markets and that sort of thing. The other Ideal I have is a 452 1/2 V, apparently.

[kirchh]

$50 is fine, if there's no damage. You can always search eBay completed items to get an idea of pricing on items, if they are common enough that you can find a few comparable examples that have sold recently.

 

--Daniel