Parker 51 Frankenpen?

[DrChumley]

Hey folks,

I'm very new to vintage pens. I found this pen a few weeks back at an antiques store in Seattle, and have been working on it for the last couple of weeks to get it up and running again. Frankly, it looks like the pen was filled up with ink once, and then never used. Cosmetically, it looked absolutely pristine, but there was blue ink that had dried up in the pen.

After getting it back together, I inked it up tonight, and I'm pretty impressed with it. It's an aerometric filler (I think?), and the filling system says 51 Special, but in some of my reading about the 51 Special, I'm confused. The cap isn't the shiny chrome, and it has a silver pearlescent jewel instead of a black one.

Any help with the ID on this pen, and what's going on here? I've posted a few pics below. You can see the whole gallery at https://plus.google.com/photos/10874...55966189966657

IMG_5415.jpgIMG_5419.jpgIMG_5421.jpgIMG_5424.jpgIMG_5435.jpg

[Farmboy]

You pen is fine as is and likely left Parker the way you received it. A cap swap may have occurred but it is fine.

Enjoy your pen.

[pajaro]

Gray cap jewel, Lustraloy cap, gold nib and a filler from the Special mean Parker 51 Standard. I have a few of these and I found some info about them on the Fountain Pen Network.

[DrChumley]

Gray cap jewel, Lustraloy cap, gold nib and a filler from the Special mean Parker 51 Standard. I have a few of these and I found some info about them on the Fountain Pen Network.

Brilliant. That sounds like my pen to a 't'. The photos I found on FPN even show an identical box and clip tag to what I have.

I'm going to spend a bit more time with it, but I suspect I will probably end up selling it. The pen writes beautifully, but the nib is a little too fine for my tastes.

[pajaro]

A great many of the 51s have fine nibs. There are some USA made mediums, and some UK made mediums, but they are less common than 51s with fine or extra fine nibs. UK made pens seem to have more mediums.