Any know the value of a Parker "Vacumatic" Fountain Pen made in 1938??

[huntsman53]

Anyone know the value of a Parker "Vacumatic" Fountain Pen made in 1938??

Hey TNET folks,

I very seldom post any items that I have obtained or asked for help on a value but I need some help! I recently went to an Auction that had consigned items from several Estates. At the Auction, I purchased a Cross Rollerball Pen in it's original box with refills for $30 plus 10% Buyer's Premium and a Waterman (made in Paris) Rollerball Pen in it's original box with sleeve but included was an unknown Fountain Pen for $130 plus 10% Buyer's Premium. After checking the value of the Waterman Rollerball Pen, I feared that I had paid too much for the two pens. However, I pulled out the unknown Fountain Pen and found that it is a Parker "Vacumatic" which may be much more valuable than the other two pens combined. With some help online, I was able to determine that this Parker "Vacumatic" Fountain Pen is a Senior Maxima model, is a transitional pen made during the second Quarter of 1938 as it has the Slimline Filler not a locking filler. The pen is in the Silver Pearl (sometimes called Grey Pearl) finish, has the two-toned Silver Nib with Gold Arrow, has two Jewels (not real Jewels but that is what they call them) and has the solid Art Deco (Arrow) Clip. The maker's name is readable but Vacumatic is less readable and the Quarter/Date (.28.) is a almost totally unreadable.

Any help on the value and the best source for where to sell it (if other than eBay) as well as the other pens, would be greatly appreciated!


Frank

 

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[huntsman53]

What, no one here with Penmanship??


Frank

 

[lastleg]

Experts on pens are all incarcerated.

 

[tamrock]

It's a good one imo. You'll get what someone's willing to pay on it is all I can say. Look the body over for any fine hairline cracks. They can be hard see and I failed to do that once on a vintage pen I purchased one time I think it's beauty and believe collector will want that pen.

 

[huntsman53]

Experts on pens are all incarcerated.

LOL or running the pens!


Frank

 

[huntsman53]

It's a good one imo. You'll get what someone's willing to pay on it is all I can say. Look the body over for any fine hairline cracks. They can be hard see and I failed to do that once on a vintage pen I purchased one time I think it's beauty and believe collector will want that pen.

Thanks for the advice! Although the pen has lots of hard to see scratches and wear from use, I have not spied any cracks as of yet. I will go over it again with my' 5-15X Loupe and also my' mini-microscope just to be sure. It seems that restoration (mainly for replacement of the barrel, new seals for the filler and a good cleaning up/buffing) is not all that expensive. However, I am not sure I want to spend the money or just let the Buyer/New Owner take that expense on. It does seem that some sell much better with "fully restored" noted but with such a pen, I am not sure it is worth the extra costs on my end! What do you all think?


Frank

 

[tamrock]

Thanks for the advice! Although the pen has lots of hard to see scratches and wear from use, I have not spied any cracks as of yet. I will go over it again with my' 5-15X Loupe and also my' mini-microscope just to be sure. It seems that restoration (mainly for replacement of the barrel, new seals for the filler and a good cleaning up/buffing) is not all that expensive. However, I am not sure I want to spend the money or just let the Buyer/New Owner take that expense on. It does seem that some sell much better with "fully restored" noted but with such a pen, I am not sure it is worth the extra costs on my end! What do you all think?


Frank

I just clean em up myself and I did look at some videos online on fixing them up yourself and remember one the guy even showed how to make your own tools to disassemble them, but it did look like there was room for error if you didn't do things correct, so I just clean em up and describe them as best I can on what I think they need and use the term "SOLD AS-IS"

 

[Sandman]

These pens are only worth very little to a collector. If you think these auction houses auction off valuables by mistake you are a naive person.

 

[huntsman53]

These pens are only worth very little to a collector. If you think these auction houses auction off valuables by mistake you are a naive person.

Some are worth more than you think! Also, I would never sell the fountain pen through an Auction House but was hoping for tips on forums or other auction type venues to sell it other than FeeBay!

parker vacumatic fountain pen | eBay


Frank