Vintage Aurora 88 Simple Information Request

[praxim]

I posted a request in the "Italy - Europe" forum, where it lies untouched. I know many people have vintage Aurora 88s so I am posting here in this higher-trafficked forum to see whether I can prompt some responses to my request. Here is a link to the thread in question. I would appreciate greatly any information people can provide.

 

Thanks

P

[Inkdot]

Well... it is not a simple data request.

 

It is a request for publication of serialnumbers in the public domain, that are normally only known to the manufacturer and the penbuyer.

 

I will bet you, that not many people are eager to publish the only to them known specific data on the internet...

 

 

Request to the FPN Moderator: Can you please close this thread. In my opninion this kind of product data pfishing is not very safe.

[carlos.q]

Well... it is not a simple data request.

 

It is a request for publication of serialnumbers in the public domain, that are normally only known to the manufacturer and the penbuyer.

 

I will bet you, that not many people are eager to publish the only to them known specific data on the internet...

 

 

Request to the FPN Moderator: Can you please close this thread. In my opninion this kind of product data pfishing is not very safe.

Could you please explain this? I really don't understand your objection.

[Inkdot]

It is quite simple:

 

Example: you ask me for the serialnumber on my Montblanc pen, and my answer is nothing, you will not get an answer from me.

[jar]

Well I posted the ones I could put my hands on but make sure no one finds out what they are since it is a secret known only to me and the manufacturer.

[praxim]

@inkdot, I promise you 20% of everything I make from my nefarious purpose of providing public information to help people to understand and work out approximately in what year their Aurora 88 was made. Beware though, internet sellers are publishing serials with wild abandon.

 

Given your protest, the serials of my own pens will shortly be in that thread, so anyone else can use the information equally.

[carlos.q]

There must be a language problem somewhere: I still don't understand the objection. I guess this is a fountain pen mystery / puzzle / enigma / conundrum / riddle / secret that will forever elude me.

[praxim]

Information for dating your 88s is now available in the thread linked in post #1 here.

 

I will have stuff up on 88K and 88P pens some time between today and a couple of days from now, although it would be handy to have some more data for those pens.

[praxim]

I have completed the year-by-serial lists here.

 

It is, of course, open to update should I hear back from Aurora, or anyone else care to give me new serials publicly or privately. Withal, I think the given lists a fairly good guide.

 

No (p)fish were harmed in the making of these tables.

Edited April 6, 2017 by praxim

[Larry Barrieau]

I'm with Carlosq. What is so secretive about serial numbers of pens? What harm can come from it? Is it the same as say, giving out the serial number of a Geha student pen or the number code on Sheaffer nibs?

[Bo Bo Olson]

All I know about the Aurora 88 is before the mid 2000's they had a semi-flex nib...so were of interest to me. I never got around to buying one.

[praxim]

All I know about the Aurora 88 is before the mid 2000's they had a semi-flex nib...so were of interest to me. I never got around to buying one.

 

Do.

 

[Drone]

Telling someone the stamped serial number, model type, and the actual year of purchase for your fountain pen so the information may be added to a database is not only completely legal, I think it is beneficial to all provided the information is shared openly.

[stephanos]

Inkdot, I can understand your concern. If the request were for information about serial numbers of contemporary Montblanc models, then I would be worried about putting the information in the public domain for people to use to produce pirate copies (or whatever)

 

 

But in the case of the vintage Auroras, we are talking about a pen produced in massive numbers in (mostly) the 1950s, where the serial numbers are essentially sequential, and where it is next to impossible to produce fakes. In this case, I don't see any harm in providing serial numbers (I have done so on the other thread), as they can only really be used for the purpose to which Praxim wants to put them, namely helping people to put a production date on specific models (either their own or something they are thinking of buying).

 

 

Bo Bo, I have two vintage Aurora 88s, as well as a couple of cartridge versions (using Parker cartridges/converters). The nibs are wonderful; very bouncy (I'd call them semi-flex, but am careful with the F-word). Having said that, you do have to be careful with the piston-fillers (neither of the two that I bought were working - I jerry-rigged a solution for one of them (would horrify a purist, but it writes now!) and one remains in need of repair).

[praxim]

An update to the information in the main thread I linked earlier; I am confident that the production numbers I have estimated for each model are closer to the mark than the figures in the pinned "88 Dynasty" post in the same "Italy - Europe" sub-forum. The older numbers are unreferenced in any case.