SIGNIFICANT PEN THEFT - Please Keep An Eye Out For These!

[Jon Szanto]

Hey everyone...

One of my best pals in the pen world (and no stranger to old-timers here), Dan Smith (aka "The Nibsmith"), was the victim of a significant theft of pens just prior to the Chicago Pen Show. Begging your indulgence, I'm reposting the text of his notice, and I'll include a photo and his web page about this below. I dearly hope one or more people in our community will have information that leads to the recovery of some or all of these. Thanks for letting me post this!


Please help find these stolen pens!

On Thursday, May 4th, approximately $40,000 worth of fountain pens (and a few other items) were stolen from my vehicle in Chicago near the Adler Planetarium. A complete list of items and images are provided below. If you happen to come across any of these items, please contact me immediately. There will be a reward for information leading to the recovery of any of the pens listed below.

Aurora 85th Anniversary, medium nib, (don’t recall serial number)
Omas Paragon in Bronze Arco celluloid, medium nib
Montblanc 149, fine nib, gold trim
Montblanc Hemingway Writers Edition, oblique broad nib
Montblanc Charles Dickens Writers Edition, medium nib
Classic Pens LB5 Tensui (blue), chrome trim, medium nib, Serial Number: #00/50
Sailor King of Pen ebonite, King Eagle nib
Nakaya Long Piccolo, medium nib, (had custom lettering on barrel)
Nakaya Naka-ai, XXF nib
Nakaya NeoStandard, medium nib, Color: Araishu (orange), gold trim
Visconti Homo Sapiens Corsani 90th Anniversary, single-tone rhodium-plated broad nib, Serial Number: #49/90
Pelikan M1005 Demonstrator, 3B two-tone nib
Pelikan Silver Screen, EF nib, Serial Number: #260/420
Aurora 88 Nebulosa, Serial Number: #626/888
Aurora 88 Sigaro, Serial Number: #341/888
Aurora 88, black resin, polished, gold trim
Aurora Optima, black resin, chrome trim
Aurora 88 Sole, Serial Number: #170/888
Aurora Optima Rossa
Aurora Optima, black resin, gold trim
Aurora Optima Nero Perla
Aurora Optima, black resin, chrome trim
Aurora Optima, blue Auroloide, gold trim
Aurora Optima, fine flex nib(!), green Auroloide, gold trim
Aurora Optima Monviso, Serial Number: #48/360
Montegrappa Ducale Grande, stub nib, Serial Number: #76/888
Porsche Design P3135 Solid Ti, fine nib
Aurora Optima, blue Auroloide, chrome trim
Aurora Optima, blue Auroloide, gold trim
Pelikan M205 Aquamarine Demonstrator
Pelikan M205 Blue Marble
Pelikan M205 Blue Demonstrator
Platinum 3776 Century Chartres Blue PNBM-20000 #51 MU, Music nib, gold trim
Platinum 3776 Century PNB-10000 #1 C, Coarse nib, black, gold trim
Platinum 3776 Century Borgogne PNB-10000 #71 SF, Soft Fine nib
Platinum 3776 Century PNBM-25000R#1 MU, Music nib, black, rhodium trim
Platinum 3776 Century Borgogne PNB-10000 #71 UEF, Ultra Extra Fine nib
Platinum 3776 Century Chartres Blue PNB-10000 #51 UEF, Ultra Extra Fine nib, gold trim
Platinum 3776 Century Chartres Blue PNB-10000 #51 EF, Extra Fine nib, gold trim
Platinum 3776 Century Chartres Blue PNB-10000 #51 F, Fine nib, gold trim
Platinum 3776 Century Chartres Blue PNB-10000 #51 C, Coarse nib, gold trim
Platinum 3776 Century PNB-15000CR #7 B, Broad nib, black, rhodium trim
Platinum 3776 Century Chartres Blue PNB-15000CR #51 M, medium nib, rhodium trim
Platinum 3776 Century Chartres Blue PNB-15000CR #51 F, Fine nib, rhodium trim
Platinum President PTB-20000P #1 UEF, Ultra Extra Fine nib, black, gold trim
Platinum President PTB-20000P #1 F, Fine nib, black, gold trim
Platinum President PTB-20000P #1 B, Broad nib, black, gold trim
Platinum 3776 Century NICE PNB-20000R #5 M, medium nib
Platinum 3777 Century NICE PUR PNB-20000R #4 B, Broad nib
Platinum 3778 Century NICE PUR PNB-20000R #4 M, medium nib
Platinum President PTB-20000P #10 UEF, Ultra Extra Fine nib, burgundy, gold trim
Platinum President PTB-20000P #10 F, Fine nib, burgundy, gold trim
Platinum President PTB-20000P #10 B, Broad nib, burgundy, gold trim
Platinum Izumo PIZ-55000 #27 M, medium nib
Platinum Izumo PIZ-55000 #30 B, Broad nib
Platinum Izumo PIZ-55000 #30 F, Fine nib
Pelikan M400 Brown Tortoise
Pelikan M400 Brown Tortoise
Pelikan M400 Brown Tortoise
Pelikan M405 Stresemann
Pelikan M405 Stresemann
Franklin-Christoph Penvelope 13 in Boot Brown
Aurora 12 pen hard clam-shell case, black
Markiaro 44 pen brown leather Briefcase
Doonie & Burke Handbag
HP Backpack
Apple MacBook Air 13″
Apple iPhone 5s
Rayban Prescription Sunglasses
Custom molded ear plugs
Sony ear buds

I’m pretty sure that’s everything. All of our belongings were in the vehicle at the time as we were moving from one hotel to another. Thankfully, we’re all OK (me and my family were not present when it happened) and they did leave our luggage and enough inventory for me to have a decent presence at the Chicago Pen Show. It could have been a lot worse.

We’re waiting on the police report to arrive by mail to file a claim with our insurance company. I’m not expecting much from them, because, well, they’re an insurance company.

Again, any help in recovering any of the pens would be greatly appreciated. The first 13 on the list were from my personal collection that I carried every day. Some will be difficult to replace while others had great sentimental value.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Regards,
Daniel Smith
https://nibsmith.com/2017/05/13/please-help-find-stolen-pens/

http://i.imgur.com/sRWwE6z.jpg

[jar]

Bummer. Hope someone sees them.

[penwash]

Sounds like the thief is not related to the pen show, so while they would realize the pens are worth a lot, they won't have a clue how much.
Thus they would probably try to gauge the value using ebay.

If somehow the police can ask ebay to monitor the IP address of people who are searching for several of these pens in a row (not individually).

[blopplop]

How evil for someone to steal those pens. My prayer is for those pens to be found and the thief caught!

Dave

[Chrissy]

How terrible! I really hope that the police find the thief as soon as possible and that they recover everything he stole. :angry:

[manoeuver]

brutal loss.

[ethernautrix]

OH!


(Just...hand over mouth, gasping.)





Oh man... I really want a part two to this story. In which the thief is (thieves are) caught and the belongings returned to Dan. So many questions. Actually, only one. Did the thief know...what he/she was stealing?

Ugh.

Ugh.

I feel so bad for Dan. Ugh.

[inklord]

So sorry to read this. Best wishes for catching the perps and retrieving the pens.
Dan, let us know if there's any way to help you and your business in the aftermath of these events.

[KKay]

That was a devastating loss. I cannot imagine what he must be going through. I hope they check local pawn shops right off the bat.

[Frank]

WOW! Terrible to hear!
Sorry for Dan!

Frank

[Deb]

That's dreadful.

[FredRydr]

I feel for Mr. Smith. First the loss, then what's going to be an insurance claim headache proving value. It is fortunate he kept a record and some photos of his pens, which is something we all should do to protect our collections (pens or otherwise).

Fred

[stub]

That is devistating. Goodness. I am so sorry. I hope they are recovered or at least that insurance surprises you and are helpful. What a terrible loss. Finger's crossed.

[View from the Loft]

Sickening.

[Bisquitlips]

That guts me!

Dan is such a good guy and a dynamic resource to the pen community! This is a terrible loss.

[Blue Note]

That layer of scum on humanity never goes away. A sad day for a good man.