How Much Is A Parker 51 In Forest Green Worth?

[TheFountainPenOfYouth]

I recently got a Parker 51 in Forest Green in good condition for about 85 USD on eBay. I notice that this colour is pretty rare, did I luck out or did I overpay?

Edited July 23, 2019 by TheFountainPenOfYouth

[welch]

It is about the right price. I bought one for about $75 or $100 ten years ago. The color is rare, like the Midnight Blue aero, but not as rare or desired as the Plum. Bigger question: does it write? How is the nib?

 

I have a Forrest Green pen, and also a set with perfect case that goes to a grandson. I think the set was about $175, and the case looks like it just came from the pen counter of a good department store.

 

You did fine.

[TheFountainPenOfYouth]

It is about the right price. I bought one for about $75 or $100 ten years ago. The color is rare, like the Midnight Blue aero, but not as rare or desired as the Plum. Bigger question: does it write? How is the nib?

 

I have a Forrest Green pen, and also a set with perfect case that goes to a grandson. I think the set was about $175, and the case looks like it just came from the pen counter of a good department store.

 

You did fine.

 

Thanks! I actually got it for 75 after talking him down but 85 was the original price.

 

I am still waiting for it to ship.

[joss]

Wat does "rare" mean in this case? The green P51 Aero is found for sale everywhere so I would not call them rare.

 

Some sellers know that green is a bit less common and ask premium prices but Ebay's 'sold items' list shows that you can find really nice examples for a normal price.

[TheFountainPenOfYouth]

Wat does "rare" mean in this case? The green P51 Aero is found for sale everywhere so I would not call them rare.

 

Some sellers know that green is a bit less common and ask premium prices but Ebay's 'sold items' list shows that you can find really nice examples for a normal price.

 

Rare as they do not come up nearly as often as most other colours in my experience. I personally see a lot of greys.

Edited July 23, 2019 by TheFountainPenOfYouth

[inkstainedruth]

When I got my Forest Green Aero (a $2 US sumgai at an estate sale about a year ago ) I was told by someone on FPN that Forest Green is the third rarest color after Plum (which only was produced for one model year) and Cocoa.

But remember -- even though Plum was only made for the 1948-49 model year, there are probably still THOUSANDS of them out there. Because over the 20 year run of it being the flagship model (although that also includes the earlier 51 Vacs) Parker made 12 MILLION 51s. And then stopped counting. So "rare" is a relative term. It's not like today with super priced numbered LE edition pens where someone has gotten #374 out of 1000 in the run.

I did see a Forest Green set at an antiques mall in Virginia a year ago spring, on my way home from the Baltimore-Washington Pen Show. The pen and pencil might have had the rolled gold caps, and were in a box. IIRC, the asking price was $125 -- which I thought was a little steep (but then, I'm a notorious cheapskate; and I'm not particularly interested in sets).

As for how the OP fared pricewise? No clue. My best recommendation is to check out the "sold" listings for Forest Green on eBay and then probably see what the average price was (because eBay prices are all over the map -- I paid roughly $72 for my Plum Demi about 5-6 years ago but I chalk that up to a combination of the smaller size, the fact that it was "user grade" (both of which were fine with me -- I'm not a c-worder collector, and I definitely do use the pen), and the fact that I must have had the best poker face of the weekend ; I upped the maximum a couple of times as I watched the price creep up over the week, but was never outbid and didn't even hit the *intermediate* maximum.... And then Farmersmum got a full size Plummer the same weekend for around $40 -- a listing I had IGNORED because the seller thought the pen was black.... Go figure.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[pajaro]

Navy gray, black, burgundy, teal are the most common. Midnight blue and forest green are less common, and plum is still less common. The metal pens and metal caps can be uncommon as well.

[TheRedBeard]

Just a few weeks ago I was unlucky and missed an opportunity to buy P51 Forest Green in excellent condition on eBay.

The final price paid by lucky buyer made £97.

I would happily pay even more, but a minor glitch on my browser destroyed my bidding during last seconds ;(

 

[inkstainedruth]

Yowsa!  That's more than I've paid for ANY single one of my 51s, including repairs on some of the 51 Vacs, and nib work on the two with EF nibs.  

As far as I'm concerned, the "worth" of my Forest Green is $22 US (shrug) -- that's the price I paid at the estate sale plus another twenty bucks for some nib work (it was one of the EF nib ones, and was a scratchy writer before that).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[jchch1950]

On 7/23/2019 at 10:32 AM, TheFountainPenOfYouth said:

I recently got a Parker 51 in Forest Green in good condition for about 85 USD on eBay. I notice that this colour is pretty rare, did I luck out or did I overpay?

IMO the price was right especially if no repairs were made.Some times re rare colour is much more valuable if it is the only one missing from a collection.

[TheRedBeard]

5 hours ago, jchch1950 said:

....Some times re rare colour is much more valuable if it is the only one missing from a collection.

As a long-time collector, I absolutely agree :)

[Aysedasi]

I picked up quite a nice cocoa aero last week for £71 (about $97).  Would you say that they're about equivalent in rarity?  I'm guessing not as there seem to be quite a few cocoa (including several sets) on eBay right now.  

[TheRedBeard]

9 minutes ago, Aysedasi said:

I picked up quite a nice cocoa aero last week for £71 (about $97).  Would you say that they're about equivalent in rarity?  I'm guessing not as there seem to be quite a few cocoa (including several sets) on eBay right now.  

Aysedasi, you did well :) IMHO £71 for cocoa P51 in good condition is right price for today. Just a few days ago I spoke to one collector who alos mentioned cocoa P51 as pretty rare one...

[Aysedasi]

As I say, there are a few on the 'bay as I write.  It's not perfect, the end of the barrel is slightly nibbled, but otherwise OK with a GF cap in very good nick.  I need to do a nib swap though, I have an amazing 2OB to put in it.....