Collectable Vintage Pens
Collectables
Vintage pens make beautiful and interesting collectables. Bear in mind, though, that they were once functional objects and check carefully for signs of excessive wear. Condition is a prime factor in their value to collectors as they can be expensive to restore. Avoid pens with replacement parts, which have often been forced or glued to the body. Pens in excellent condition are worth four or five times as much as worn ones
What to look for:
Quality Pens made before 1945 by these firms are especially desirable:
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Parker (before 1930)
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Waterman
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Montblanc
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Wahl-Eversharp
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Sheaffer
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Dunhill-Namiki
Waterman
Pens marked as a calendar with dates and the seven days of the week were only made by Waterman. This one was made in 1936 from 9ct gold and is worth about £800 to £1,000.
Drinkers Pen
Waterman also produced a massive No.20 safety pen, legend has it these were
used in the US during Prohibition for hiding whisky
Swan
This silver Swan eyedropper from about 1905 is especially valuable because of its high-quality scroll and lozenge decoration. Expect to pay between £300 and £500.
The lily pattern decorating this pen is one of the rarest designs used by Swan during the early years of the 20th century. This pen would fetch about £1,200.
Conklin
The crescent on the side of this gold-plated Conklin, which dates from about 1916, was a new design patented by this UK maker in 1899 to improve the way the pen was filled. This pen is worth about £300 to £500.
The gold-plated Conklin filigree pen shown at the top of the page was made in about 1918. Although it's a more common type, its larger size means it would still be worth £300 to £500.
The gold-plated Conklin filigree pen shown at the top of the page was made in about 1918. Although it's a more common type, its larger size means it would still be worth £300 to £500.
Montblanc
This Montblanc pen, made about 1924, is a fairly standard design, but it's still worth £800 to £1,200 because the case is decorated with gold overlay.
This Montblanc Model 1M with its unusual spider's web design dates from about 1942 and is worth £1,000 to £2,000. There are fakes of this design around but they are usually suspiciously new in appearance.
Dunhill-Namiki
It probably took as long as two weeks to finish the high-quality laquer decoration of this Dunhill-Namiki pen, which was made in about 1935. It's worth about £1,200.
This article was not written with the broad strokes of a fountain pen. This is typed on a modern computer. But that doesn’t mean we haven’t longed for the nostalgia and simplicity of past times the sensual appeal of putting a finely crafted fountain pen to paper. Maybe you feel that way, too.
There’s a practical side to collecting fountain pens. You may stumble upon a treasure house of pens at the flea market or a thrift store selling at a fraction of their worth. You can buy limited edition pens today that will become tomorrow’s collectibles. Intricate and elegant, pens are tiny works of art that don’t require much space or special preparation to store or display.
It’s no wonder that over 30,000 Americans and over 500,000 people worldwide belong to pen collectors groups; with many more pursue the hobby on their own.
www.penbid.com - The Worlds largest online pen auction -
Buy and sell new and vintage writing instruments.
Above all have fun and meet new interesting people
Remember you are what you write with.
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