2 replies to this topic

[wekiva98]

Thought I’d invite some comments from the crowd. I never bid on pen lots, but I made a leap of faith a few days ago and bought 9 pens from a seller in Washington state who says she works storage units. Two pens were obvious junkers, but the rest struck me as worth a risk. As the photo shows, there were two small Sheaffers, two Conklins and a Vacumatic – all nice pens, in good, unrestored shape – but the ones that got my eye were the two Parker 51 demonstrators. One has a wedding band cap (no imprint) and the other has a smooth sterling cap (with imprint at the top). There’s a nick or two but no dents, as far as I can see. Both have the first-year imprint on the blind cap and metal jewels top and bottom. Blind caps fit perfectly. Both appear to have red collectors, although one is almost black with ink. Both have metal speedline fillers. One is missing a nib and the tip of the hood is broken, as though it might have been dropped. Neither has a “Demonstrator” imprint. Both are grimy and have the tarnish and wear of pens that were used some, but they mostly look as though they’ve been sitting around for decades. Haven’t tried to open them up at this point. I already had a two-jewel 51 demonstrator that I bought years ago, but I wasn’t going to pass up a chance to get two at once. I paid more than I wanted but less than I expected. The price tag struck me as reasonable for the long haul, particularly if I end up repairing and reselling the other pens.

[matt]

Red collectors, too.

[NABodie]

Nice, very nice indeed!