Mystery Parker ballpoint.

[Skraeling]

Hi! I got this parker flighter style ballpoint some time ago, and I'm still unsure what model it is meant to be, I'd appreciate any help!

The base of the cap has two grooved lines around it (1st pic), the tassie is black and looks hemispherical but it may just be a well worn regular tassie. On the back of the clip is the number 3 (2nd pic).


20240828_170617[1].jpg20240828_170609[1].jpg

[jos]

Hi, and welcome on this forum.

If your pen has the Parker 61 type long-feather clip, it is likely to be a Parker 'International Flighter' from the 1960s. The two narrow grooves at the bottom of the cap were originally filled with a very thin layer of gold. The "International Flighter" ballpoint is often confused with a Parker "61 Flighter" ballpoint, but the latter had a grey pearl cap jewel and it also lacked the grooves at the bottom of the cap. This version of the International Flighter was introduced in 1960 and phased out by 1968 or 1969.

Parker produced many different ballpoints in the 1960s and there is often confusion about the exact names of the models. You can find a bit of discussion on this matter in these two threads over at FPN and FPB:
https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/f...ker-51-jotter/
http://fountainpenboard.com/forum/in...onal-flighter/

[Skraeling]

Thank you so much, I did further research (er, googling) and yup, it's the international flighter.

I'm still curious about the number 3 on the back of the clip, I don't recall seeing anything like that on the many Parkers that have passed through my hands.

[jos]

I'm still curious about the number 3 on the back of the clip, I don't recall seeing anything like that on the many Parkers that have passed through my hands.

If the number 3 imprint is on the clip ring: this has been reported on different Parker models from the 1960s but nobody seems to know what this imprint means, see also here:
https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/f...-51-clip-ring/