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Sheaffer masterpiece 14k fountain pen and pencil


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I have been given a masterpiece 14k fountain pen and pencil set that was my fathers. I am trying to determine the age of the set as well as the value. Let me say here that the set is not for sale. I am aware that the pre war sets were made from 1940 to 1945 and that the snorkel pens were introduced in 1952. This set however, is lever filled and has the white dot so I am thinking that they were made between 1946 and 1951. Would this be correct? A value is needed for insurance purposes. Thanks for any help. Steve

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Full thread on masterpieces here:


i wasn’t able to find much else

 

no evidence of a white dot with a lever (that i could find). But there was a touchdown with a white dot (that i only briefly looked into) That would have been in 1949 for fat touchdown and 1950-52 for tm touchdowns

 

https://penhero.com/PenGallery/Sheaffer/SheafferTouchdownGuide.htm
https://penhero.com/PenGallery/Sheaffer/SheafferTouchdownEarly.htm

https://penhero.com/PenGallery/Sheaffer/SheafferTMTouchdown.htm

 

 hope some of this helps. More pics might help too 

 

beautiful set btw. You are lucky to have it. Glad you intend to keep it :)


 

edit: some indication here to help date the box 

http://dirck.delint.ca/beta/?page_id=2998

that might also help

Just give me the Parker 51s and nobody needs to get hurt.

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If Brian would finish that website....

 


Until then: McQueen help the reaper out.

San Francisco International Pen Show - The next “Funnest Pen Show” is on schedule for August 23-24-25, 2024.  Watch the show website for registration details. 
 

My PM box is usually full. Just email me: my last name at the google mail address.

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That is definitely a beautiful and valuable set!

 

This info might be helpful (but open to corrections):

- the insertion of the white dot on Sheaffer metal caps started mid 1948 (announced in Sheaffer's Review March 1948) and the earliest white dots on metal caps had a peculiar bulged appearance. The bulged white dot is present on your fountain pen. I think that the bulged white dot was not present anymore on 1949 metal caps.

- the 'LIFETIME' print on the nib was phased out 1948: it is still seen in a 1948 Sheaffer dealer pamphlet but absent in the 1949 catalog.

- I thought that the lever on Sheaffer pens was already phased out in 1948 but it was definitely gone in 1949, in favour of the Touchdown.

 

So, I would pin the date of production of your fountain pen quite narrowly to 1948. The pencil may be a later if it does not have the bulged white dot (difficult to see on photo 2).


I have no clue on value except that the Triumph Masterpiece pen & pencil set was sold for $150 in 1948 and 1949.

 

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For insurance purposes, a set like that with gorgeous box, I think $1,000 cover.  However, if you were to suffer a loss, you'd need a written appraisal in order to pry payment out of your carrier.  You might as well have your entire collection valued by an expert on valuing pens and then get a specific rider on your policy based on the appraisal.

 

What a magnificent set!

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  • 2 weeks later...

After a detailed look into the 1949 Sheaffer catalog I have to correct my comment above that Sheaffer lever pens were gone in 1949: 

- the 1949 Sheaffer catalog explicitly mentions that the Masterpiece was available with lever only. The 1949 catalog introduces the Touchdown mechanism but also mentions that the lever was still available for the Crest Masterpiece, Autograph and the black version only of the Crest Deluxe, Sentinel Deluxe, Valiant and Statesman. All colours of the Admiral and Craftsman were also available as lever fill only.

- the text that goes with the Masterpiece also mentions "Pen with Lifetime Point". This is not mentioned for the Crest Masterpiece, Autograph or any other Sheaffer pen in the catalog and none of the Triumph nibs that are shown bears a "Lifetime" imprint. So it seems that the Sheaffer Masterpiece was the only surviving Sheaffer pen with a Lifetime point in 1949. And it definitely had a lever.

 

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On 6/14/2021 at 5:41 AM, joss said:

That is definitely a beautiful and valuable set!

 

This info might be helpful (but open to corrections):

- the insertion of the white dot on Sheaffer metal caps started mid 1948 (announced in Sheaffer's Review March 1948) and the earliest white dots on metal caps had a peculiar bulged appearance. The bulged white dot is present on your fountain pen. I think that the bulged white dot was not present anymore on 1949 metal caps.

- the 'LIFETIME' print on the nib was phased out 1948: it is still seen in a 1948 Sheaffer dealer pamphlet but absent in the 1949 catalog.

- I thought that the lever on Sheaffer pens was already phased out in 1948 but it was definitely gone in 1949, in favour of the Touchdown.

 

So, I would pin the date of production of your fountain pen quite narrowly to 1948. The pencil may be a later if it does not have the bulged white dot (difficult to see on photo 2).


I have no clue on value except that the Triumph Masterpiece pen & pencil set was sold for $150 in 1948 and 1949.

 

I bought my Snorkel in 1953 as a gift to me for getting an 'A' on a Trusts & Estates exam by the toughest professor at Columbia Law School. It is a adorned with a white dot on its metal cap. I retired it almost thirty years ago in favor of an Omas Paragon and a Galileo. Unretired it some years ago and rememberung that Sheaffer guaranteed their white dot pens for the life of the original owner I sent ti to Fort Madison for service. I believe they cleaned and replaced the ink sac. I really like the way it writes and feels. 

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Wow.  What a cool story!  Do you know off hand what model Snorkel it was?

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm not on this board much, but I saw this item and wanted to reply. I have one of these sets (although not with the white dot) and I'd say 1948-49 is a good estimate of its age. I'd put the replacement value higher at $1,500, however.

 

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  • 3 months later...

Since this is a Masterpiece with a Lifetime nib this set is probably 1957/1958, see https://www.penhero.com/PenGallery/Sheaffer/SheafferSnorkel.htm in the relevant section about all metal white dot section. I once showed a Masterpiece + Lifetime nib and he told me that 'it is a significant pen'...

 

Now if this is your phtotgraph + it is a set + the box matches this should be able to fetch serious money. A 9k UK model was sold for GBP900 already now imagine this being a 14K model PLUS a pencil as well... I would guess probably somewhere in the 3-4000 dollar range.

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2 hours ago, ruurd said:

Since this is a Masterpiece with a Lifetime nib this set is probably 1957/1958

 

What is your exact reasoning to end up in 1957-58?

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 10/9/2021 at 10:02 PM, joss said:

 

What is your exact reasoning to end up in 1957-58?

The mention of it selling for $110 in 1958. However on rereading I also see that it is featured in a 1953 catalog so yes could be earlier.

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13 hours ago, ruurd said:

The mention of it selling for $110 in 1958. However on rereading I also see that it is featured in a 1953 catalog so yes could be earlier.

 

The Masterpiece became a TM (thin model) with Touchdown filler from 1951 on and the OP's pen is not a TM.

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12 hours ago, ruurd said:

Oh. I think I know where I got my wires crossed. This is a Masterpiece but not a snorkel - at least - I can't see it is one.

Probably no snorkels here because the OP specified in the first post of this thread that his pen is lever filled.

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What a wonderful set and to be an heirloom makes it invaluable to my way of thinking. The nib unit certainly looks to be from the 40's, as does the lever, and the above noted elevated white dot.  Sometimes a manufacturer may not sell a pen the year it was made, if stock remains from prior production. 

Regards, Glen

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