Did we buy a fake?

My Sweetie, who is new to the wicked ways of ebay bought himself a Targa at what he thought was a very good price - $53.  It was advertised as having a 23kt gold electroplated nib, and this slipped past me.  It arrived today and looks like a 1005.  I'm assuming that it's a replica (to be polite) or did these pens ever have anything but a solid 14 kt. nib?  Information from those with more experience would be gratefully received.  Thanks.

pl provide the detailed image of the pen  and nib . sheaffer made targas in steel as well as 14 k gold nibs. 1005 is" gold elctroplated " marked on the cap with a crown ,also known as "flute " design.

23K gold plated nibs are a standard Sheaffer nib in the targa line.  They are available here - http://www.sheaffert.../nibs home.html.  This site - sheaffertarga.com - is the site for targa information.  Nobody is faking targas - no money in that.

Roger W.

Hi Roger, yes I looked on that web-site and read that the nibs there for the 1005 were 14kt that's what worried me.  The body of the pen is marked gold electro-plated with a crown as Newbie explained. This is the ebay listing. 

http://www.ebay.com/...c#ht_3051wt_974

Or I hope it is, bit of a noob with computers and I'm using my old laptop, the PC's in "hospital" right now.  I had a similar Targa that I sold recently, wish I still had it to compare. Thanks folks.

The closest to a "fake" you'll find is a Wilson, an Indian maker, but they are clearly marked. Still with a casual glance they could be mistaken, Sheaffer wasn't the only maker to have inlaid nibs !! Wilson also made copies of Parkers (Vacumatics, P75s, P45s being some), an interesting maker.

Regards

Hugh

23K gold plated nibs are a standard Sheaffer nib in the targa line.  They are available here - http://www.sheaffert.../nibs home.html.  This site - sheaffertarga.com - is the site for targa information.  Nobody is faking targas - no money in that.

 

Roger W.

Dunno about "no money in that".   Probably not easy money, but with a few of the pens now selling for several hundred +...

Still, I've seen and heard of no fakes in this arena.   We are fortunate that our low price point hobby is subject to minimal activity of this sort.

I've heard of some modern Dupont fakes and of late we've had issues with Parker 51 barrel fakes from S. Korea.

A bit surprising in this thread-- I appreciate Roger's reference to Gary's website on this-- is the existence of gold plated Targa nibs. I have seen/handled steel and solid 14k but had not heard of gold plated  variants. Wonder if they were for specific (presumably low end) models or if they were a general option?

For those unfamiliar with Targa, a well made Sheaffer pen made from 1970's-1990's in a huge range of finishes, here are a few:

To learn more, I highly recommend Gary Ellison's Sheaffer Targa website

Link to Sheaffertarga.com

regards

david

Here's a list of Targa nibs, including GP.  You may not have the correct nib for a 1005, but it's not fake.

http://www.sheaffert.../nibs home.html

Edited by matt, 28 December 2013 - 10:47 PM.

Well, the fact that David didn't know about gold plated nibs either makes me feel MUCH better.  Anyhow, thanks all of you for taking time to contribute to this thread.  My Sweetie loves his Targa, plated nib or not, so all is sweetness and light chez Madame Stylo!

Gary's website - as Roger, David and Matt note - is a source of great information on Targas, as well as Crests, Connoisseurs, etc.  While Gary shows the GP nibs, my experience is that they aren't that prevalent.  Of the hundreds of Targas I've handled and seen, I've seen pens with them (GP nibs) in the past couple of years, particularly in the slimline model.  The same as David, I went years and never ran across anything but the solid 14K and steel variations.  The first time I bought a Targa with a GP nib - also on ebay - that fact slipped past me as well.  I saw the gold nib but didn't look closely enough to note that it was GP and not solid 14K.  Regardless, Targas are great pens with any of the nibs.

Best,

Pat

I think these Classic gold plated nibs came out quite late on in Targa production, maybe in the early to mid 1990's. I know that was the case in the UK, because our Sheaffer reps told us to fit them to the Targa pens if our customers wanted to pay a little less. I don't beleive they came fitted as standard to any models, however I know they were also used on corporate pens to keep the cost down.

Cheers

Gary

Gary -

Thanks for the information.  Also, your site is a great reference source and much appreciated.

Best,

Pat