Comparing Vintage Esterbrook LJ and Dollar Pens to modern pens

[Medievalist]

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[welch]

I think the Estie would be more expensive, although it is hard to compare 1950 prices for fountain pens to those of today. To start with, everybody wrote with a fountain pen in 1950 if they wrote in ink. Today, people often talk of using a fountain pen as a hobby.

Best I can tell, the Estie was more expensive than a third-tier pen, like the Arnold or the Wearever: https://www.penhero.com/PenGallery/W...verGallery.htm

And the Estie was less expensive than the first-tier pens, such as Parker and Sheaffer.

[Chuck Naill]

When discussing a vintage Esterbrook, the nib is the variable.

While I appreciate your inquiry, it is like asking
which modern safety razor compares to one from the 1940’s. It is the blade that is the variable.

[FredRydr]

Preppies are almost throwaway pens, while vintage Esterbrooks are among the hardiest fountain pens out there. Even their sacs last longer than anticipated.

If you determine the original purchase price of your Esterbrook LJ and adjust for cost of living from then to now, that might help determine what would be a fair equivalent today for price and quality.