Parker 50 "golden Falcon" Help

[Captivelight]

I've just picked up a Parker 50 Falcon in Gold Lattice Pattern and am looking for a little help with it.

http://pencollect.co.uk/personal/15.jpg

I believe that this pattern was made exclusively for sale in W H Smiths shops in the UK and marketed as the "Golden Falcon" - can anyone verify this?

I also believe that the pen was sold from 1981 to 1983 - which would mean that it should be date coded. However the pen has no date code on it. Does any one know if this was standard on this model ? If anyone else has this model, is yours date coded? Were they manufactured prior to 1980?

Any help would be appreciated.

Mike

[T1Love]

I can't help ya, but what a beautiful pen!

[Captivelight]

I can't help ya, but what a beautiful pen!

 

Yep, it's certainly a pretty pen ....

[ac12]

oooo nice

[longhandwriter]

Nice pen. I've just acquired this model, different pattern, gold filled, boxed and with an insurance certificate and papers, but interestingly with a USA made converter. The pen was sold in December 1979, in Edinburgh, Scotland. The date is on the insurance certificate which was probably part of the sale deal. The pen is specifically called the Parker Golden Falcon on the certificate with no mention of Parker 50 or Signet. There is no date code on the cap so the date matches this.

 

 

 

[Eccles]

I've heard that WH Smith did have a version but haven't seen one... it's gorgeous.

I'd love to have one too.

Glenn.

[Captivelight]

Nice pen. I've just acquired this model, different pattern, gold filled, boxed and with an insurance certificate and papers, but interestingly with a USA made converter. The pen was sold in December 1979, in Edinburgh, Scotland. The date is on the insurance certificate which was probably part of the sale deal. The pen is specifically called the Parker Golden Falcon on the certificate with no mention of Parker 50 or Signet. There is no date code on the cap so the date matches this.

 

 

 

The Newhaven 1981 UK Price List refers to this pen as the Golden Falcon as well ... I wonder if they were retailed as Falcons in the UK and not Parker 50's ?

 

£35 For the Golden (with free insurance! - hence your document)

£22.50 for the TX

£20.00 for the Stainless

[Scrawler]

Gulp - Beautiful pen. That is the first time I have seen this particular model of Falcon.

[SerpentAtEden]

 

The Newhaven 1981 UK Price List refers to this pen as the Golden Falcon as well ... I wonder if they were retailed as Falcons in the UK and not Parker 50's ?

 

£35 For the Golden (with free insurance! - hence your document)

£22.50 for the TX

£20.00 for the Stainless

On parkerpens.net it says: "The gold Falcon cost $125", hence, I wonder weather there might have existed a version with a gold nib. I can't find pictures or information on the nib material in general, but I assume that the nib is only gold plated for a price of £35... If anyone has information regarding this, it would be appreciated since I don't own one of these myself, for reference, but consider buying one.

[baz666]

Hi,

 

I have had a new old stock set of these "lattice pattern" Golden Falcons for some time now.

I understand this pattern was made exclusively for W.H. Smiths in the U.K.

Unfortunately I do not have the sales receipt to confirm the original retail price.

 

 

 

On the point (pun intended) of solid gold nibs, I have owned quite a few Parker Falcons and still own a few prototype / test market versions.

I have never seen one with a solid gold nib.

 

Regarding the $125 price, It may be worth contacting Tony on the Parkerpens.net site to see where he got that retail price for the Golden Falcon from.

Possibly Parker thought they could justify that price in the U.S.A.?

 

Paul.

[Ernst Bitterman]

In working through prices on my site, I kept running into references to a spike in gold prices at about the time the 50 was discontinued. I don't know precisely when this was, but perhaps the difference between the 1981 UK price (which, according to this site worked out to about US$60) and 1982's US price has some connection to that.

 

In other speculation, if the 50 was UK production only (which I do not know one way or another, and I don't have my common flighter version at hand to glance at the MADE IN line), perhaps the doubling in price represents some kind of import fees which have since evaporated. It would be ironic enough if something put in place to protect US pen makers from foreign competition drove the price of a Parker product up too high for the market to bear.

Edited September 27, 2017 by Ernst Bitterman