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Parker 51 Aerometric

Deceisive

By Deceisive
in Fountain & Dip Pens - First Stop

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Deceisive New

Deceisive

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A local retailer has a Parker 51 in a gold medium nib in an Excellent condition. It looks very nice and it is a reliable retailer that I have done business with. I am conflicted as I can't find a reliable price on this pen. It is a nice looking pen and I had another one but thanks to a certain friends shoe I no longer have one in and condition to be used. Is $160 a good price for this pen? Your assistance is appreciated. 

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bunnspecial Collectors Item

bunnspecial

Posted
Posted

Is the pen as-is, as-found or has it been gone through by someone who knows what they're doing?

 

Aeromatic 51s generally will work fine with a cleaning, but at the same time if they were used with Superchrome or other nasty ink they deserve some attention by someone who knows what they're doing.


If it's a common color, I'd expect it to be fully serviced and guaranteed for that price, and even that, IMO, is high. If it's a less common color, I won't venture a guess as to whether or not that's fair.

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sandy101 Collectors Item

sandy101

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$160 is a good price for a Parker 51 in excellent condition. 

 

If it is a local dealer, will they let you try the pen out before you buy?

 

If they will, then you'll get the change to look at it, and see if it is worth $160.

 

You can get a P51 for less "in the wild" but condition can vary. I got one for less that £10, but the cap turned out to be split, and the nib was misaligned. It cost me £25 for a replacement cap and a couple of hours to get the hood and the nib aligned. 

 

It's a nice enough writer.  

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Beechwood Donor Pen

Beechwood

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I agree with Bunn, I think the price is really high unless there were some very special features such as the pen being brand new and boxed or all gold.

 

If it is a regular run of the mill 51 without any special features and no dealer warranty then it is about twice the price I would pay, at least.

 

 

 

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Karmachanic Donor Pen

Karmachanic

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53 minutes ago, silverlifter said:

 

HC is UK-based and Barry lives in France...

 

HC and Barry???. @Deceisive quoted $ prices so I posted links to $ priced P51s for reference.

Add lightness and simplicate.

 

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silverlifter Vintage

silverlifter

Posted
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5 minutes ago, Karmachanic said:

 

HC and Barry???. @Deceisive quoted $ prices so I posted links to $ priced P51s for reference.

 

I was just correcting your assertion that HeritageCollecables is a US-based site.

Vintage. Cursive italic. Iron gall.

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NumberSix Vintage

NumberSix

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$160 is the kind of price you might pay for a spotless, completely restored one from a trusted site like mainstreetpens or parker51.com.

 

If this one is not those things, then assume you're probably paying too much. 

 

 

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Karmachanic Donor Pen

Karmachanic

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13 hours ago, silverlifter said:

 

I was just correcting your assertion that HeritageCollecables is a US-based site.

 

Thank you. That's what happens when I post past my bedtime.

Add lightness and simplicate.

 

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maclink Vintage

maclink

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13 hours ago, NumberSix said:

$160 is the kind of price you might pay for a spotless, completely restored one from a trusted site like mainstreetpens or parker51.com.

 

If this one is not those things, then assume you're probably paying too much. 

 

 

I agree. I have 4 Parker 51’s and paid premium price for what was supposed to be fully restored pens. NONE of them worked straight off. One had a complete nib misalignment! I decided to learn disassembling rather than returning the pen. I disassembled all of them. None had the breather tube intact. It was either missing or broken although claimed fully restored. 

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Beechwood Donor Pen

Beechwood

Posted
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As an example, this Parker 51 aero is being sold as a fully serviced pen for £40, perhaps $60, from a pen repairer and retailer, and no I am not telling you who because I want it.

 

Admittedly just a plain and simple 51

 

large_p51.jpg.91b30455fa4812a15184fcfa1a4f177a.jpg

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NumberSix Vintage

NumberSix

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2 hours ago, Beechwood said:

As an example, this Parker 51 aero is being sold as a fully serviced pen for £40, perhaps $60, from a pen repairer and retailer, and no I am not telling you who because I want it.

 

Admittedly just a plain and simple 51

 

large_p51.jpg.91b30455fa4812a15184fcfa1a4f177a.jpg

Nice.

 

Before I even saw this thread, I happily paid $90 yesterday for one from a seller whose work I know and respect, so I have no doubt it will be in great condition and work right out of the box.

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Beechwood Donor Pen

Beechwood

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36 minutes ago, NumberSix said:

Nice.

 

Before I even saw this thread, I happily paid $90 yesterday for one from a seller whose work I know and respect, so I have no doubt it will be in great condition and work right out of the box.

 

 

There is another thread on what is the longest production runs for pens. Another potential new could be 'what pen could you buy today that is likely to increase in value over the next 5 years. The Parker 51 would get my vote.

 

10 years ago I could buy a good Parker 51 for £20, (about $25)  from a dealer at a pen show, I would expect it to be clean, working perfectly, no marks or scratches in fact  I bought 10 for £200 from one man, he had taken each one apart and checked it before sale. None of them had rare caps though. 

 

Typical price today is around £60, in another 5 years I would guess that the typical price could be £100 at least.

 

 

 

 

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Karmachanic Donor Pen

Karmachanic

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3 hours ago, Beechwood said:

As an example, this Parker 51 aero is being sold as a fully serviced pen for £40, perhaps $60, from a pen repairer and retailer, and no I am not telling you who because I want it.

 

Admittedly just a plain and simple 51

 

large_p51.jpg.91b30455fa4812a15184fcfa1a4f177a.jpg

 

I've been eyeballing that same pen.

Add lightness and simplicate.

 

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bunnspecial Collectors Item

bunnspecial

Posted
Posted

FWIW, just yesterday I got a 51 Vac back from repair. It came with a handful of pens I bought from a friend, including a couple of other 51s, that averaged out to $15 or so each. I paid $50 to have it fixed. 


This one is dove gray with a sterling silver/gold filled cap. It's a blue diamond pen with a single pearl gray jewel. It's far from perfect-the cap was UGLY when I got it(and the blue diamond was gone completely), but cleaned up really well albeit with a few spots of wear-through on the gold fill. Overall, I'm super pleased with how it turned out, and it's in my pocket now.

 

That's not a terrible investment IMO for under $70, but I have no idea if I could turn around and sell the pen for more than that. It's a moot point because I like it too well to do that.

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