What would be the reasons to date code a pen?

[johnee]

I've been asking myself why Parker would date code their pens?

 

Was it to help people/repair folks understand what parts could and couldn't be used on a specific pen? I almost that's a moot point as the repair person will know exactly how the pen is constructed when he/she disassembles it.

 

Did Parker think/know there would be THAT much variation in their pens such that that a particular line would have 2,3,4 or more design changes over the course of the lines life?

 

Do any repairs necessitate the date code? If so, why did Parker stop dating pens in the late 50s? I see them starting to date them again in the 80s as a sales gimmick. Maybe I'm wrong? (wouldn't be the first time )

 

 

[sumgaikid]

I've been asking myself why Parker would date code their pens?

 

Was it to help people/repair folks understand what parts could and couldn't be used on a specific pen? I almost that's a moot point as the repair person will know exactly how the pen is constructed when he/she disassembles it.

 

Did Parker think/know there would be THAT much variation in their pens such that that a particular line would have 2,3,4 or more design changes over the course of the lines life?

 

Do any repairs necessitate the date code? If so, why did Parker stop dating pens in the late 50s? I see them starting to date them again in the 80s as a sales gimmick. Maybe I'm wrong? (wouldn't be the first time )

 

The obvious answer would be that Parker did so to enlighten the public. I don't think,however,that that is the case. I think that date codes were done for factory purposes;i.e.,like imprinting a "manufactured(mfg.)by _______mfg.co." on the back of a plastic spoon or something similar(parker vacumatic,made in usa).Parker date codes stopped around 1952 or 1953 in the u.s.;

about 1958 was when Canada stopped their date coding.

 

John

[FarmBoy]

I've been asking myself why Parker would date code their pens?

 

Was it to help people/repair folks understand what parts could and couldn't be used on a specific pen? I almost that's a moot point as the repair person will know exactly how the pen is constructed when he/she disassembles it.

 

Did Parker think/know there would be THAT much variation in their pens such that that a particular line would have 2,3,4 or more design changes over the course of the lines life?

 

Do any repairs necessitate the date code? If so, why did Parker stop dating pens in the late 50s? I see them starting to date them again in the 80s as a sales gimmick. Maybe I'm wrong? (wouldn't be the first time )

 

The obvious answer would be that Parker did so to enlighten the public. I don't think,however,that that is the case. I think that date codes were done for factory purposes;i.e.,like imprinting a "manufactured(mfg.)by _______mfg.co." on the back of a plastic spoon or something similar(parker vacumatic,made in usa).Parker date codes stopped around 1952 or 1953 in the u.s.;

about 1958 was when Canada stopped their date coding.

 

John

 

How about a Friday Parker conspiracy theory?

 

I'm going to guess two guys were sitting in the shop and had a quick chat over lunch.

 

Something like:

 

"If we were to put a cryptic date code on the pens, people would always wonder what they mean."

 

"Yeah and in 50 or 60 years, people will wonder why we did it. Just think of the theories they will come up with . . ."

 

"And when we quit putting them there, the same debate will restart!"

 

 

 

[johnee]

The obvious answer would be that Parker did so to enlighten the public. I don't think,however,that that is the case. I think that date codes were done for factory purposes;i.e.,like imprinting a "manufactured(mfg.)by _______mfg.co." on the back of a plastic spoon or something similar(parker vacumatic,made in usa).Parker date codes stopped around 1952 or 1953 in the u.s.;

about 1958 was when Canada stopped their date coding.

 

John

 

I suppose I don't see the public gaining any information from a date code as they do with the name of the manufacturer. At least printing the manufacturer's name on the pen provides protection from counterfeits and is a form of advertisement. And what would the factory gain from a date code?

 

this is where a former Parker employee/manager could shed some light.

Edited May 9, 2008 by johnee

[Ernst Bitterman]

Pure prescience-- "You know, in 50 or 60 years, there's going to be a pack of weirdoes that will want to know, possibly even to the month, when a pen was made. Let's give 'em a treat."

 

edit ...and then he actually gave it some thought. Perhaps against the eventuality of a recall? A bad batch of celluloid in July 1939 (for example; don't believe there was one) leads to spontaneous pen combustion, and they want to get the offenders out of the supply stream without pulling in EVERY green Vacumatic made since the problem batch went out.

Edited May 9, 2008 by Ernst Bitterman

[ANM]

A possibility I can think of is when a pen comes back for repair, they know when it was made and maybe can discover a design flaw when several pens made at the same time come back with the same part(s) failure.

[sumgaikid]

The obvious answer would be that Parker did so to enlighten the public. I don't think,however,that that is the case. I think that date codes were done for factory purposes;i.e.,like imprinting a "manufactured(mfg.)by _______mfg.co." on the back of a plastic spoon or something similar(parker vacumatic,made in usa).Parker date codes stopped around 1952 or 1953 in the u.s.;

about 1958 was when Canada stopped their date coding.

 

John

 

I suppose I don't see the public gaining any information from a date code as they do with the name of the manufacturer. At least printing the manufacturer's name on the pen provides protection from counterfeits and is a form of advertisement. And what would the factory gain from a date code?

 

this is where a former Parker employee/manager could shed some light.

 

Date codes back then had a different meaning than they do today. We see them in an archaeological sense,giving us an idea when the pen was made. I think that back then it was nothing more than a reference point to let the pen repairers know what

model and type it was for the purpose of parts and repairs as well as (perhaps)just something different that was put on a

pen. Keep in mind that Parker was the only pen company that used date codes;Shaeffer's 875,1075 and 1275 on their

Balances in the 40's was their (gimmicky) way of letting customers know how much the pen cost. No matter how seemingly

trivial such information might be,any little edge helped against competition.

 

John

[RLTodd]

It could be one of those things were someone got an idea, maybe Mr. Parker, didn't think it through, and they just started doing it. After a few decades someone at the same level of managment would ask why they were doing it and since no could come up with a good reason they stopped. Or it could have been a marketing thing like the serial numbered nibs and the "lifetime" guarantee.