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Two Sheaffer Snorkel sets - A question


corgicoupe

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I have two Sheaffer Snorkel Pen and Pencil sets.  One is a Statesman with the PDAg F4 nib, and the other is a Valiant with the 14K nib [no other marking].  Both came with the original box and the aluminum foil tags with the name and prices.  My question has to do with the pries of the pencils.  The Statesman pen is $15.50 and the Valiant pen is $17.75, but strangely the Statesman pencil is tagged $7.75 whereas the Valiant pencil is tagged $6.50.  The only difference I can see between the pencils is that the Statesman is marked

W A Sheaffer Pen Co

Fort Madison, Iowa USA

Made in USA

whereas the Valiant is marked

Sheaffer - Made in USA

There is one other minor difference - The Statesman has two-tone plating at the tip where the lead protrudes; the Valiant is all gold plated.

What might be the reason for this price differential between the pencils, with the Statesman being the more expensive?  Understandably, the 14K nib on the Valiant would account for its being more expensive than the PdAg nib.  The only thing that I have that would date the Valiant is a repair invoice dated Nov 1, 1974.  (Total repair cost was $3 plus $.70 for postage and insurance.)

 

I just noticed that the Valiant has absolutely no markings on the barrel.  I wonder if the barrel had been replaced?  The invoice indicates both pen and pencil were sent in the original case.  The two repair Symbol Codes are L+4 and 1215K [or 121SK].  Any thoughts will be appreciated..  TIA.

Baptiste knew how to make a short job long

For love of it. And yet not waste time either.

Robert Frost

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Possible, but I don't have definite dates for the two sets.

Baptiste knew how to make a short job long

For love of it. And yet not waste time either.

Robert Frost

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The pencil in the Valiant set actually came from a non-White Dot set and was treated to a White Dot cap. It does have a White Dot, right? and the cap band width is the same as the width of the band on your Statesman pencil? The two-tone tip is correct for White Dot pencils, but non-White Dot pencils have the plain gold plate tip. The price tag of $6.50 is probably correct for a non-White Dot pencil or Valiant pencil from an earlier Valiant series, like the TM TD or possibly even earlier -- like a late 1940s Valiant.

 

Remember Snorkel prices increased at least once during the 8-year production run and that can explain  differences people see in price tags on identical model Snorkel pens and pencils, e.g., an early Valiant would have a lower price tag than a late Valiant.

 

Your Valiant pen without a barrel imprint indicates late production. It's interesting that some late model Snorkels pens had imprints on their caps, one line just above the band. And I have even seen a few Snorkel pen imprints in one line stamped radially on the barrel below the section.

 

Snorkel pencil imprints are stamped radially on the barrel right under the cap. They are in three lines, like pen imprints. Your very brief Valiant pencil imprint is like nothing I've seen on a Snorkel pencil, but then I don't pay as much attention to pencil imprints. 

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3 hours ago, Robert111 said:

The pencil in the Valiant set actually came from a non-White Dot set and was treated to a White Dot cap. It does have a White Dot, right? and the cap band width is the same as the width of the band on your Statesman pencil? The two-tone tip is correct for White Dot pencils, but non-White Dot pencils have the plain gold plate tip. The price tag of $6.50 is probably correct for a non-White Dot pencil or Valiant pencil from an earlier Valiant series, like the TM TD or possibly even earlier -- like a late 1940s Valiant.

Yes, it has the white dot and the cap band width is the same as the Statesman pencil, but also the same as the Valiant pen and the Statesman pen. The single-tone gold plate tip does make for a good explanation of the price.

And the information about the two-tone tip on white-dot is helpful information.  Why would Sheaffer change the caps in a pencil and include it in a Valiant set?  Isn't this deceptive?

Quote

 

Remember Snorkel prices increased at least once during the 8-year production run and that can explain  differences people see in price tags on identical model Snorkel pens and pencils, e.g., an early Valiant would have a lower price tag than a late Valiant.

 

Your Valiant pen without a barrel imprint indicates late production. It's interesting that some late model Snorkels pens had imprints on their caps, one line just above the band. And I have even seen a few Snorkel pen imprints in one line stamped radially on the barrel below the section.

This comment took me back to look at the Valiant pen cap and, not surprisingly, it has the imprint Sheaffer's - Made in USA above the band.

Quote

 

Snorkel pencil imprints are stamped radially on the barrel right under the cap. They are in three lines, like pen imprints. Your very brief Valiant pencil imprint is like nothing I've seen on a Snorkel pencil, but then I don't pay as much attention to pencil imprints. 

Yep... the Statesman pencil has the three-line imprint under the cap, but the Valiant pencil does really have the 0ne-line imprint under the cap.  Sheaffer does [did] some funny things in the past.

Thanks very much for your information.

Baptiste knew how to make a short job long

For love of it. And yet not waste time either.

Robert Frost

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"Why would Sheaffer change the caps in a pencil and include it in a Valiant set?  Isn't this deceptive?"

 

A dealer might do it--unlikely to be noticed unless the set was right next to another White Dot set. 

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But the set got sent back to Sheaffer for some kind of repair and no comment was made about the discrepancy.  Now, it was many years later but I would have expected some comment.

 

It's not a big deal to me since it was a gift to me from the original owner's widow.  I was just curious.

Baptiste knew how to make a short job long

For love of it. And yet not waste time either.

Robert Frost

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 1/10/2021 at 2:13 PM, 3rdlakerobert said:

And I have even seen a few Snorkel pen imprints in one line stamped radially on the barrel below the section.

 

Yesterday I was picking out a black barrel from parts and came across this one. I think this imprint is uncommon.

DSC_0620.jpg

DSC_0622.jpg

DSC_0621.jpg

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That is just like the imprint on the cap on my Valiant Snorkel, but the barrel may have been replaced under warranty for the previous owner.

Baptiste knew how to make a short job long

For love of it. And yet not waste time either.

Robert Frost

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