1958? Info requested on Aus. Sheaffer Imperial

[Jim Beamington]

Hullo FPN, I'm Jim from the Suffolk coast in England. I've just joined this forum as I was hoping to find out a bit about this Australian Sheaffer Imperial. If anyone can give an idea of its date of manufacture, rarity & value I'd be grateful. 

It is a pen which recently sold online for £221.99, described as: "Sheaffer Imperial IV Touchdown c1958 Aust."

I had thought that this type of nib dated from about 1962, but am new to fountain pen collecting, so must admit to having no in-depth knowledge on that.

Have attached some photos. Many thanks.

 

Edited March 21, 2021 by Jim Beamington

[Roger W.]

Sheaffer Imperial IV's are common even from Australia and and are generally worth around $60.  The PFM came out with the inlaid nib in 1959 and I think the Imperial IV didn't come out before 1961.  You can find a lot of information at sheaffertarga.com.

 

Roger W.

[joss]

On first sight it looks like a common Imperial IV but I am puzzled by the edge in the barrel, just above the metal pegs that hold the cap in place. That looks odd because, as far as I know, the barrel on the Sheaffer Imperial lays flush with the section. Such an edge is seen on the desk pens of the Imperial family, but the desk pens did not have pegs on their sections. 

[Paul-in-SF]

2 minutes ago, joss said:

On first sight it looks like a common Imperial IV but I am puzzled by the edge in the barrel, just above the metal pegs that hold the cap in place. That looks odd because, as far as I know, the barrel on the Sheaffer Imperial lays flush with the section. Such an edge is seen on the desk pens of the Imperial family, but the desk pens did not have pegs on their sections. 

Sharp eyes. 

 

I am curious about the clip. I have a few Imperial IV's and the clips on all of them are smooth, not indented at the bottom like this one. I think I have seen photos of clips like that, but I don't remember where or anything about the pens. Does that make it an early model?

[Jim Beamington]

Thank you for the replies.

 

I see that the pen has a small arrowhead shape on the inlaid end of the nib which is not present on some others I looked at.

Seller on ebay uk (sekukltd) states that the Aus barrel is slightly wider in diameter than the USA model. 

 

I'll have a look at sheaffertarga.com. Cheers.

 

Edited March 21, 2021 by Jim Beamington

[gmark_wa]

Sheaffer (Aust.) began advertising the Imperial II, III and IV in Australian newspapers from around mid-1961. 

[terim]

On 3/21/2021 at 3:07 PM, Jim Beamington said:

Thank you for the replies.

 

I see that the pen has a small arrowhead shape on the inlaid end of the nib which is not present on some others I looked at.

Seller on ebay uk (sekukltd) states that the Aus barrel is slightly wider in diameter than the USA model. 

 

I'll have a look at sheaffertarga.com. Cheers.

 

 

I'm not sure about that .... we have new old stock Imperial II/III touchdown barrels made in Australia and they are the same diameter as US-made ones when measured at the imprint location. No step down.

[Jim Beamington]

Hi Teri, nice to see your comment on this. I bought a 1940s green striated Sheaffer from you 2 or 3 years back (see your original pic, attached, which I saved). That "cucumber" pen flew from California to Suffolk, England without a hitch.

 

Re the blue Aus Imperial IV, I have no idea, but the seller's auction info included this: 

 

"...THIS PEN IS AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURE C1958,

THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE USA PEN AND THE AUSTRALIAN PEN IS THE BARREL, IT IS A SLIGHTLY LARGER DIAMETER THAN THE USA PEN..."

 

 

[vicpen123]

Did it really sell for 221.99 pounds? A staggering amount.

[Jim Beamington]

Yes.....I was surprised. 

Edited March 26, 2021 by Jim Beamington

[terim]

On 3/25/2021 at 5:18 AM, Jim Beamington said:

Hi Teri, nice to see your comment on this. I bought a 1940s green striated Sheaffer from you 2 or 3 years back (see your original pic, attached, which I saved). That "cucumber" pen flew from California to Suffolk, England without a hitch.

 

Re the blue Aus Imperial IV, I have no idea, but the seller's auction info included this: 

 

"...THIS PEN IS AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURE C1958,

THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE USA PEN AND THE AUSTRALIAN PEN IS THE BARREL, IT IS A SLIGHTLY LARGER DIAMETER THAN THE USA PEN..."

 

 

 Happy to see you are still getting some use from it!

[terim]

On 3/25/2021 at 6:58 PM, vicpen123 said:

Did it really sell for 221.99 pounds? A staggering amount.

Can't believe that high price! I'd say $150 is about right and even a little high for a perfect one.