For Collectors: What is that ONE pen?

[jzuzphreek]

What is the one special pen that you would trade your whole collection for? The one pen that you'd pay whatever ridiculous price was asked just to have it. No conditions, no terms.

For me it would be the Aurora Etiopia. I don't know why, I just think it's a beautiful pen from a very special time. Issued to Italian soldiers on the African front during WWI, there is a lot of history in these pens. Finding one with the ink pellets still intact would be even more special.

http://www.stylophilesonline.com/archive/jan03/05vint.htm

 

[syngent]

No way I could narrow down to one pen... I have to many inks and flushing is pita on some pens

I need all of them

But if I had the money a vintage pelikan toledo or conklin would be a good start..

Or maybe a edison pneumatic

Or a franklin christoph bellus

Or... well crap I'm going to goulet to window shop then ebay

 

[Rockminer]

Hard question to answer. Being a noob, there are plenty of expensive pens I would love to own.

If I could have any pen, I would want something that had some history tied to it. Pens used for;

Declaration of Independence
13th Amendment

Stuff like that. Otherwise it's just limited edition this, or hard to find that.

 

[todayilearned]

Aurora Dante's Inferno... Maybe a David Oscarson Les Quatre Couleurs... Definitely Mont Blanc Alfred Hitchcock...

Ugh, so many to choose from!

 

[LouieGrandie]

A Mont Blanc Hemingway



Launched in 1992 limited edition of 20,000 units worldwide and over the years its price has been rising up to be “unreachable” for many.
Its body is made from resin “red coral” and dark brown, evoking the signature pieces of the 30 that earned him so successful. Your details are finished in gold.
As is standard in this collection also includes writers signing the honoree (in gold) and the cap. But also as we see in the image, it has also recorded the “old logo” of the firm (which we also saw in the 100 th anniversary edition). Its clip has a “vintage” clearly inspired by classic models like the 139.
Its filling system is integrated into the piston through the body and in the section that serves for actuation, we have included a ring for decoration. We can also see at the junction with the body a ring gear for easy grip.
In short, a “jewel” that every lover of the fountain would be happy to own. Very compact and simple but with a “feel” special.

 

[SmoovD]

The next one.

 

[Hunter]

Liberty_2112 is giving me a Wahl-Eversharp Symphony, the Raymond Leowy model. From what I have read this one seems to be the one, and I think it is in the post office right now waiting for me!

 

[andrew98]

But if I had the money a vintage pelikan toledo or conklin would be a good start..

Or maybe a edison pneumatic

Or a franklin christoph bellus

Or... well crap I'm going to goulet to window shop then ebay

This is what happens to me, too.

The next one.

Exactly.

-Andy

 

[andrew98]

Next on my list is probably an Edison Extended Pearl. I'll have to wait a while on that one, though. Otherwise, there's not much on my list. I have trouble with the idea of spending more than about $200 on a pen, and I'm trying to keep my collection small by only owning 1 or 2 pens from makers/manufacturers that I really like. Waterman pens turned into a small stumbling block for my collecting premise, however.

-Andy

 

[jzuzphreek]

I guess the point of the question was, Is there a crown jewel pen that you would ever strive for (in a world where money is no object). Obviously the question is geared more towards vintage pens, althrough there may be some more recent pens like Hemingway mentioned that are highly desirable. The question isn't to limit your pen collection. Just, is there a super "more special than any other" pen out there that you would love to own but probably, due to financial/availability constraints, never will.

 

[Rockminer]

I guess the point of the question was, Is there a crown jewel pen that you would ever strive for (in a world where money is no object). Obviously the question is geared more towards vintage pens, althrough there may be some more recent pens like Hemingway mentioned that are highly desirable. The question isn't to limit your pen collection. Just, is there a super "more special than any other" pen out there that you would love to own but probably, due to financial/availability constraints, never will.

So...........................now that you understand the question, what's your answer? LOL Have you changed your mind?

Just kidding with ya Jessy

 

[ChefJohnBoy-ardee]

I would love a PFM but will probably never get one. AN oversize Sheaffer Balance is on the list too but the cost on those is getting crazy. Especially when I want a gray and red one to show my Buckeye spirit!

 

[andrew98]

I'd love a Nakaya but will probably never get one.

-Andy

 

[Slivovitz]

Probably just a typo in the original post, but according to your link, the pen was nothing to do with WWI. It was connected rather with Mussolini's invasion of Abyssinia in 1935, which in hindsight was part of the run-up to WWII. Not the best historical associations, but an interesting pen. I wonder if the ink pellet concept was common at one time.

A pen that I'd really like to get would be one of the gold overlay Conklin Crescents like these. I actually did bid on one of these on eBay once, I believe I put in around $170, which would have made it my most expensive pen, but it went for a little under $250 I think. So maybe I could have had it if I were willing to go as high as, say $300. Wouldn't literally give up all my other pens for one, though, and it fact, would probably never pay what it would take to get one, although they are not nearly as hard to find as it seems those Auroras would be. I'll just have to live with my BCHR ones.

 

[cstephens]

The problem I have is that "collector" and "ONE pen" don't work together. I've discussed this with many people. Years ago I decided that one either has or doesn't have a collector personality type. I have never been able to stop at owning just one of anything I get interested in. The subtle differences among seemingly similar things, the linear development of a series of items, the variety of different designers/manufacturers...these are the things that motivate me. I cannot explain why. I have met plenty of others, however, who have told me that they can't comprehend this. It makes no sense to have more than one of any item. The other day at work, I was in a colleagues office. He is a stamp collector. We were showing each other recent pen and stamp acquisitions. He showed off one of my pens to his office mate. Her response? "It is just a pen to me."

 

[nemo]

There is no one pen that could come close to what my collection means to me. Just can't happen.

 

[Shutterbug57]

There is no one pen that could come close to what my collection means to me. Just can't happen.

Doug - you beat me to it.

One pen with one nib would get boring fast.

 

[Dave258]

There is no one pen that could come close to what my collection means to me. Just can't happen.

Doug - you beat me to it.

One pen with one nib would get boring fast.

Agreed! Doug, I am sure your collection far surpasses mine, and Shutterbug, from the pictures you posted yours is great too! But, I could never answer a Just one pen question. I love all of my pens, and buy them to use! I enjoy using a Platinum Preppy as well as a Visconti Homosapiens or a Lamy Safari or any of my Pelikans... See, I can't even stop my list!

 

[jzuzphreek]

I get the point everyone is trying to make. I was just wondering if each person thought of any one pen as a "holy grail" type of thing. I totally understand the idea of collecting '51s' or something like that. It was just a bit of a survey to see what kind of interest this board has in those highly collectible, rare pens. I think, by and large, the members of this forum are much more interested in value and function.

Probably just a typo in the original post, but according to your link, the pen was nothing to do with WWI. It was connected rather with Mussolini's invasion of Abyssinia in 1935, which in hindsight was part of the run-up to WWII. Not the best historical associations, but an interesting pen. I wonder if the ink pellet concept was common at one time.

A pen that I'd really like to get would be one of the gold overlay Conklin Crescents like these. I actually did bid on one of these on eBay once, I believe I put in around $170, which would have made it my most expensive pen, but it went for a little under $250 I think. So maybe I could have had it if I were willing to go as high as, say $300. Wouldn't literally give up all my other pens for one, though, and it fact, would probably never pay what it would take to get one, although they are not nearly as hard to find as it seems those Auroras would be. I'll just have to live with my BCHR ones.

I saw that in the article. The collectors guide in which I first saw the pen associated them with WWI. Being as they were eyedroppers, the WWI dating seems to hold a little more water (bad pun, not entirely unintended). Italy actually invaded Ethiopia in 1935 which is, of course closer to WWII than WWI, and it wouldn't make any sense to issue anything with Ethiopia emblazoned on it before actually going into the country. So, truthfully, I don't know. I just think it's a really cool pen from a critical point in human history.


EDIT: Just found this interesting write-up at Richards Pens on some FP/War historical overlap.

 

[redbike]

Liberty_2112 is giving me a Wahl-Eversharp Symphony, the Raymond Leowy model. From what I have read this one seems to be the one, and I think it is in the post office right now waiting for me!

I have one - the model 703, and would never part with it; it's one of my favorite pens. They're hard to come by compared to Skylines. I much prefer the shape of the Symphony, and the Loewy cap is, IMO, an nice design feature.