Parker 45 Tx

[olson131]

I have two Parker 45 TX pens in my collection. What can anyone tell me about them, history, production numbers, value, etc. One of them doesn't have the metallic finish any more and can that finish be restored or isn't it worth it?

[nxn96]

Tony makes a brief mention of the TX in his writeup of the 45 series on parkerpens.net. I know the TX was only produced for a few years, so it is a relatively uncommon 45. Not sure how you would go about doing a restoration of the metal finish, or whether it would be cost justified. Probably someone else here is more knowledgeable on that topic.

[icardoth]

Member speerbob is currently selling a number of brand new Parker 45 TXs. I bought one a month ago and is an awesome pen.

[Gobblecup]

What does "TX" stand for? Texas?

[Jerome Tarshis]

Not Texas. It was an English pen, manufactured from 1980 to some time several years later. For all I know, it may have been manufactured only in 1980 and, giving evidence of failing in the market, was no longer manufactured but the existing pens sold off. It didn't fail because it had something in particular wrong with it, such as the finish flaking off easily, but perhaps because it cost a little more than the standard Parker 45 with a stainless-steel cap and a plastic barrel.

 

At that time it might not have been fortunate to introduce a product that was very like the standard item but cost a little more. Some FPNers weren't yet born by the early 1980s, but discussions of our current economic difficulty often remind us that the world had a really bad economic time around 1981 and 1982. Quite a few new ventures failed in the market, not just UK Parker's 45 TX.

 

Incidentally, Parker uses the TX designation to describe at least one other pen with the same kind of finish, in this case a blue matte epoxy over (I would think) brass. I can't remember which it is, but for a while at least it occurred in Parker's naming system.

 

Actually, I doubt whether the two-capital-letter abbreviations for the American states promulgated by the United States Postal Service, I assume to make optical character recognition easier and thus save money in processing letters, had come into use as early as 1980. But I may be mistaken about that.

Edited January 9, 2011 by Jerome Tarshis

[ray501]

I have a P45 TX and it has a date code of Ql which puts it into the fourth quarter of 1980. It's a nice pen, and rare - but not as rare as a 'prototype'. It has more weight than a plastic P45 or an aluminium Coronet and is simlar to a flighter in this respect (which I prefer)

 

Information sites state that the TX was available 1980-1983, very similar to the Harlequin which was also based upon the P45. Probably for both lines the bulk of the manufacturing occurred in 1980 and 1981 and remaining stocks were sold off in 1982 and 1983 until they ran out. The TX is a fairly rare pen and seems to have a higher value than the more common harlequin and therefore it has a much higher value than a stock P45 which are available in huge numbers. But I doubt that re-furbishing is possible, as the process is likely to be expensive and possibly requires special processing and tooling beyond the capapbilites of a typical pen restorer.

 

The TX seems to have been a one-off experiment in both development and marketing. For marketing purposes it had a blue epoxy finish sitting over a metal barrel and cap. In the late 1970's Parker England had a black epoxy P25 and I have seen comments from owners that this is prone to wear. About this time Parker also started to introduce other pens with an epoxy finish, notably the P50 Falcon in Brown and Black, and later on the Matte Black epoxy finish was applied to many Parker pens (but not the P45) and became a mainstream marketing thread, and the black finish on later pens seems to be more durable. As far as I know the P45 only ever had the blue epoxy finish (TX) and no other colours were available, at least in the mainstream plants of USA and UK.

Recently I saw advertised on Ebay a P45 matte Black epoxy P45 that had been made in Argentina but I don't know how common this finish was in sales terms - the South American plants seem to have had separate development ideas! The seller indicated that this Black P45 dated from the nineties so the black finish is more likely to be comparable with the later black finishes on other parker pens such as the Arrow and the 95.

 

Now the P50 Falcon (1978-82) was also labelled for sales purposes as a TX (see picture) so perhaps Parker used the TX label for the epoxy finish and dropped the term later on. What TX stands for I do not know. Perhaps when the falcon and P45TX were discontinued (both around 82/83) then the term TX had no more relevance and was dropped.

 

Around 1980 the Blue finish of the P45TX was unique, and Blue and Green epoxy pen variants seem to be available only later on with the 'Place Vendome/Rialto' lines.

 

In development terms the P45 TX seems to sit between the two stainless steel P45 versions (pre-1980 with barrel end tip/button and post 1980 which is a one piece barrel). The TX follows neither barrel style but adopted a very small barrel end button borrowed from the P45 Fiber tip, and so was unique among P45 fountain pens. As far as I know the small barrel button was only avaialble elsewhere on South Americam made P45s.

 

The TX fountain Pen had a Ballpoint TX partner but I have never seen a P45 TX pencil or Fiber tip (it would nice to know if they ever existed!)

 

Hope this helps put things into perspective.

Edited January 9, 2011 by ray501

[olson131]

  On 1/9/2011 at 11:03 AM, ray501 said:

I have a P45 TX and it has a date code of Ql which puts it into the fourth quarter of 1980. It's a nice pen, and rare - but not as rare as a 'prototype'. It has more weight than a plastic P45 or an aluminium Coronet and is simlar to a flighter in this respect (which I prefer)

 

Information sites state that the TX was available 1980-1983, very similar to the Harlequin which was also based upon the P45. Probably for both lines the bulk of the manufacturing occurred in 1980 and 1981 and remaining stocks were sold off in 1982 and 1983 until they ran out. The TX is a fairly rare pen and seems to have a higher value than the more common harlequin and therefore it has a much higher value than a stock P45 which are available in huge numbers. But I doubt that re-furbishing is possible, as the process is likely to be expensive and possibly requires special processing and tooling beyond the capapbilites of a typical pen restorer.

 

The TX seems to have been a one-off experiment in both development and marketing. For marketing purposes it had a blue epoxy finish sitting over a metal barrel and cap. In the late 1970's Parker England had a black epoxy P25 and I have seen comments from owners that this is prone to wear. About this time Parker also started to introduce other pens with an epoxy finish, notably the P50 Falcon in Brown and Black, and later on the Matte Black epoxy finish was applied to many Parker pens (but not the P45) and became a mainstream marketing thread, and the black finish on later pens seems to be more durable. As far as I know the P45 only ever had the blue epoxy finish (TX) and no other colours were available, at least in the mainstream plants of USA and UK.

Recently I saw advertised on Ebay a P45 matte Black epoxy P45 that had been made in Argentina but I don't know how common this finish was in sales terms - the South American plants seem to have had separate development ideas! The seller indicated that this Black P45 dated from the nineties so the black finish is more likely to be comparable with the later black finishes on other parker pens such as the Arrow and the 95.

 

Now the P50 Falcon (1978-82) was also labelled for sales purposes as a TX (see picture) so perhaps Parker used the TX label for the epoxy finish and dropped the term later on. What TX stands for I do not know. Perhaps when the falcon and P45TX were discontinued (both around 82/83) then the term TX had no more relevance and was dropped.

 

Around 1980 the Blue finish of the P45TX was unique, and Blue and Green epoxy pen variants seem to be available only later on with the 'Place Vendome/Rialto' lines.

 

In development terms the P45 TX seems to sit between the two stainless steel P45 versions (pre-1980 with barrel end tip/button and post 1980 which is a one piece barrel). The TX follows neither barrel style but adopted a very small barrel end button borrowed from the P45 Fiber tip, and so was unique among P45 fountain pens. As far as I know the small rrel button was only avaialble elsewhere on South Americam made P45s.

 

The TX fountain Pen had a Ballpoint TX partner but I have never seen a P45 TX pencil or Fiber tip (it would nice to know if they ever existed!)

 

Hope this helps put things into perspective.

 

 

It sure does and thanks for the information. I had to go and locate my 45TX and it is anodized? light blue. I have the pen and pencil new in the box. I bought them in November of 1994 and paid $3.00 for the set. I probably got a good deal with your information.

 

Thanks again, Chris

[ray501]

  On 1/9/2011 at 4:25 PM, olson131 said:

  On 1/9/2011 at 11:03 AM, ray501 said:

I have a P45 TX and it has a date code of Ql which puts it into the fourth quarter of 1980. It's a nice pen, and rare - but not as rare as a 'prototype'. It has more weight than a plastic P45 or an aluminium Coronet and is simlar to a flighter in this respect (which I prefer)

 

Information sites state that the TX was available 1980-1983, very similar to the Harlequin which was also based upon the P45. Probably for both lines the bulk of the manufacturing occurred in 1980 and 1981 and remaining stocks were sold off in 1982 and 1983 until they ran out. The TX is a fairly rare pen and seems to have a higher value than the more common harlequin and therefore it has a much higher value than a stock P45 which are available in huge numbers. But I doubt that re-furbishing is possible, as the process is likely to be expensive and possibly requires special processing and tooling beyond the capapbilites of a typical pen restorer.

 

The TX seems to have been a one-off experiment in both development and marketing. For marketing purposes it had a blue epoxy finish sitting over a metal barrel and cap. In the late 1970's Parker England had a black epoxy P25 and I have seen comments from owners that this is prone to wear. About this time Parker also started to introduce other pens with an epoxy finish, notably the P50 Falcon in Brown and Black, and later on the Matte Black epoxy finish was applied to many Parker pens (but not the P45) and became a mainstream marketing thread, and the black finish on later pens seems to be more durable. As far as I know the P45 only ever had the blue epoxy finish (TX) and no other colours were available, at least in the mainstream plants of USA and UK.

Recently I saw advertised on Ebay a P45 matte Black epoxy P45 that had been made in Argentina but I don't know how common this finish was in sales terms - the South American plants seem to have had separate development ideas! The seller indicated that this Black P45 dated from the nineties so the black finish is more likely to be comparable with the later black finishes on other parker pens such as the Arrow and the 95.

 

Now the P50 Falcon (1978-82) was also labelled for sales purposes as a TX (see picture) so perhaps Parker used the TX label for the epoxy finish and dropped the term later on. What TX stands for I do not know. Perhaps when the falcon and P45TX were discontinued (both around 82/83) then the term TX had no more relevance and was dropped.

 

Around 1980 the Blue finish of the P45TX was unique, and Blue and Green epoxy pen variants seem to be available only later on with the 'Place Vendome/Rialto' lines.

 

In development terms the P45 TX seems to sit between the two stainless steel P45 versions (pre-1980 with barrel end tip/button and post 1980 which is a one piece barrel). The TX follows neither barrel style but adopted a very small barrel end button borrowed from the P45 Fiber tip, and so was unique among P45 fountain pens. As far as I know the small rrel button was only avaialble elsewhere on South Americam made P45s.

 

The TX fountain Pen had a Ballpoint TX partner but I have never seen a P45 TX pencil or Fiber tip (it would nice to know if they ever existed!)

 

Hope this helps put things into perspective.

 

 

It sure does and thanks for the information. I had to go and locate my 45TX and it is anodized? light blue. I have the pen and pencil new in the box. I bought them in November of 1994 and paid $3.00 for the set. I probably got a good deal with your information.

 

Thanks again, Chris

 

Do you mean you bought a MINT set for $3.00 ! I nearly had a heart attack! The TX fountain pen on Ebay Uk is very rare, only a handful appearing in a year, and sell in the region of £50 to £90 in average used condition, so a mint pen would be at the top of the values - and as for the pencil, well I've never seen one at all! A great buy, and well done!

 

Can you share with us the date codes - they should be after the 'Made in England' stamp on the cap. When I place my bet, my money will be on the dates beginning with a 'Q' (for 1980) as the rarity of these pens would suggest that the production run was very low.

Edited January 9, 2011 by ray501

[ceejaybee]

  On 1/9/2011 at 4:25 PM, olson131 said:

 

It sure does and thanks for the information. I had to go and locate my 45TX and it is anodized? light blue. I have the pen and pencil new in the box. I bought them in November of 1994 and paid $3.00 for the set. I probably got a good deal with your information.

 

Thanks again, Chris

 

Are you sure your set is a TX finish, from your description of it being anodized light blue and having a pencil, it sounds more like a coronet set??? I've seen the TX described on more than one site/occasion as having a 'metallic' finish but I'm not sure this is correct, the TX set I have is matte blue epoxy which is a solid coloured paint finish, I can't see anything metallic about it, whether it refers to the fact that the finish is epoxy over metal I don't know?

 

I'd be curious to hear about the datecoding/production dates on the TXs too, my FP is uncoded but my BP has the 1980 code. I also have a P45 matte black FP+BP set with a 1984 code which makes you wonder why Parker returned to the matte epoxy finish so soon after discontinuing the TX? I've also seen a brown epoxy finish and heard of a red epoxy finish in the P45 series.

[Jerome Tarshis]

Yes. Following the preceding post, I have now begun to wonder whether the original poster has two 45 TXs. For one thing, I would not describe the color of my pen as light blue. It's a saturated dark blue. Not in any sense a light color. On the contrary, a rather dark color.

 

I wouldn't have any trouble in describing the finish as metallic, although it isn't metallic the way the Coronets had a metallic finish. If I compare my TX with my matte black and burgundy Cross pens, I find the surface of the TX more metallic than matte, though. It doesn't have a mildly pebbled surface, as matte finishes do, relatively.

 

The other thing is, I can't imagine how it could be said that the finish of the TX had worn off. And might be replaced. The finish might conceivably be scratched in one or two places. That might happen with normal wear, but serious damage can't be a very frequent occurrence. It would require extraordinary effort to take the entire finish off the pen, and if that happened it wouldn't seem to be a blue pen any more. A brass pen. Might be a handsome brass pen, for all I know.

 

I think we ought to reserve judgment about what pen we are discussing until we've seen pictures.

[ray501]

  On 1/10/2011 at 10:00 AM, ceejaybee said:

  On 1/9/2011 at 4:25 PM, olson131 said:

 

It sure does and thanks for the information. I had to go and locate my 45TX and it is anodized? light blue. I have the pen and pencil new in the box. I bought them in November of 1994 and paid $3.00 for the set. I probably got a good deal with your information.

 

Thanks again, Chris

 

Are you sure your set is a TX finish, from your description of it being anodized light blue and having a pencil, it sounds more like a coronet set??? I've seen the TX described on more than one site/occasion as having a 'metallic' finish but I'm not sure this is correct, the TX set I have is matte blue epoxy which is a solid coloured paint finish, I can't see anything metallic about it, whether it refers to the fact that the finish is epoxy over metal I don't know?

 

I'd be curious to hear about the datecoding/production dates on the TXs too, my FP is uncoded but my BP has the 1980 code. I also have a P45 matte black FP+BP set with a 1984 code which makes you wonder why Parker returned to the matte epoxy finish so soon after discontinuing the TX? I've also seen a brown epoxy finish and heard of a red epoxy finish in the P45 series.

 

There are a number of points to mark the differences (a picture would help!). 1) Coronets are fairly light in weight (so I understand, as they are not steel) whereas the TX is epoxy coated over steel and weighs more.....2) The TX is only 'Made in England' and the Coronets are USA......3) The Coronets have a substantial Gold tipped barrel end similar to the early flighters whereas the TX has a tiny gold (almost flat) end button.....and 4) on the Coronets the Parker Halo stamp on the cap is enclosed in a rectangular and rounded box.

 

The Coronets are fairly rare in Europe but more available in USA as they were made in the USA. I understand that Coronets still command a higher value than most P45s, though. So regardless of TX or Coronet, a mint Pen and pencil set will still have been a wonderful buy at a cheap price!

 

I read somehere that the TX may have been available from 1979, if so that may explain the reason why your TX pen is undated, and perhaps the reason for the unique barrel end button concept, which differs from post 1980 english made flighters that use a one-piece barrel.

 

I know the matte black finish was made in Argentina - where was your matte black set made? I haven't seen any epoxy brown/red pens for sale in the UK, where the TX was made, so I was wondering if the epoxy coated P45s were produced elsewhere in the world. Any and all info helps the knowledge base!

Edited January 11, 2011 by ray501

[ray501]

  On 1/10/2011 at 5:12 PM, ray501 said:

  On 1/10/2011 at 10:00 AM, ceejaybee said:

  On 1/9/2011 at 4:25 PM, olson131 said:

 

It sure does and thanks for the information. I had to go and locate my 45TX and it is anodized? light blue. I have the pen and pencil new in the box. I bought them in November of 1994 and paid $3.00 for the set. I probably got a good deal with your information.

 

Thanks again, Chris

 

Are you sure your set is a TX finish, from your description of it being anodized light blue and having a pencil, it sounds more like a coronet set??? I've seen the TX described on more than one site/occasion as having a 'metallic' finish but I'm not sure this is correct, the TX set I have is matte blue epoxy which is a solid coloured paint finish, I can't see anything metallic about it, whether it refers to the fact that the finish is epoxy over metal I don't know?

 

I'd be curious to hear about the datecoding/production dates on the TXs too, my FP is uncoded but my BP has the 1980 code. I also have a P45 matte black FP+BP set with a 1984 code which makes you wonder why Parker returned to the matte epoxy finish so soon after discontinuing the TX? I've also seen a brown epoxy finish and heard of a red epoxy finish in the P45 series.

 

There are a number of points to mark the differences (a picture would help!). 1) Coronets are fairly light in weight (so I understand, as they are not steel) whereas the TX is epoxy coated over steel and weighs more.....2) The TX is only 'Made in England' and the Coronets are USA......3) The coronets have a substantial Gold tipped barrel end similar to the early flighters whereas the TX has a tiny gold (almost flat) end button.....and 4) The Parker Halo stamp on the cap is enclosed in a rectangular and rounded box.

 

The Coronets are fairly rare in Europe but more available in USA as they were made in the USA. I understand that Coronets still command a higher value than most P45s, though. So regardless of TX or Coronet, a mint Pen and pencil set will still have been a wonderful buy at a cheap price!

 

I read somehere that the TX may have been available from 1979, if so that may explain the reason why your TX pen is undated, and perhaps the reason for the unique barrel end button, which differs from post 1980 english made flighters.

 

I know the matte black finish was made in Argentina - where was your matte black set made? I haven't seen any epoxy brown/red pens for sale in the UK, where the TX was made, so I was wondering if the epoxy coated P45s were produced elsewhere in the world. Any and all info helps the knowledge base!

 

I added a coronet picture from an earlier thread - this may help the original post to be identified! (The picture was submitted by Dan Carmell)

Edited January 11, 2011 by ray501

[ceejaybee]

  On 1/10/2011 at 5:12 PM, ray501 said:

I know the matte black finish was made in Argentina - where was your matte black set made? I haven't seen any epoxy brown/red pens for sale in the UK, where the TX was made, so I was wondering if the epoxy coated P45s were produced elsewhere in the world. Any and all info helps the knowledge base!

 

The matte black set I have is marked 'MADE IN UK' as opposed to the 'MADE IN ENGLAND' imprint on the blue TX set I have. It is identical to the TX except it doesn't have the gold coloured disc on the end of the barrel. There was an auction on Ebay UK for a brown epoxy ballpen recently and I have seen a brown fountain pen.

 

The matte epoxy P45s from Argentina I have seen (I owned a black FP until recently) were grey, white and black and, externally, were all very different from the UK and US P45s, the fountain pens were larger and had a clip more like that used on the P61/65 or P75 and had a pointed cap tassie and barrel end. These would be earlier than the 1990s suggested earlier as the Parker plant in Argentina closed in the very early 80s I believe. Ariel Kullock has sold an Argentinian black set recently and he seemed to think they had a very short production run, less than 6 months IIRC.

[ray501]

  On 1/10/2011 at 10:12 PM, ceejaybee said:

  On 1/10/2011 at 5:12 PM, ray501 said:

I know the matte black finish was made in Argentina - where was your matte black set made? I haven't seen any epoxy brown/red pens for sale in the UK, where the TX was made, so I was wondering if the epoxy coated P45s were produced elsewhere in the world. Any and all info helps the knowledge base!

 

The matte black set I have is marked 'MADE IN UK' as opposed to the 'MADE IN ENGLAND' imprint on the blue TX set I have. It is identical to the TX except it doesn't have the gold coloured disc on the end of the barrel. There was an auction on Ebay UK for a brown epoxy ballpen recently and I have seen a brown fountain pen.

 

The matte epoxy P45s from Argentina I have seen (I owned a black FP until recently) were grey, white and black and, externally, were all very different from the UK and US P45s, the fountain pens were larger and had a clip more like that used on the P61/65 or P75 and had a pointed cap tassie and barrel end. These would be earlier than the 1990s suggested earlier as the Parker plant in Argentina closed in the very early 80s I believe. Ariel Kullock has sold an Argentinian black set recently and he seemed to think they had a very short production run, less than 6 months IIRC.

 

That's very interesting - the 'UK' (and not 'England') marking puts them post 1980 - are they date coded? The early 80's flighters had their codes stamped directly above the 'in' as 'made in UK', plus a 45 marking on the cap. Are these pen similar? I haven't seen a mention of this type of finish before, I wonder how they were named?

 

The timeline appears logical though, the Coronets were late 70's with early style barrel caps, the TX and Harlequins were 1979/83 or thereabouts and so after 1984 there may have been an opening for a higher end 45 - the matte black finish was used on many lines around 1990's (arrow, 95, vector, classic). The one piece barrel puts them into the later style of production.

[ceejaybee]

  On 1/11/2011 at 1:41 AM, ray501 said:

 

That's very interesting - the 'UK' (and not 'England') marking puts them post 1980 - are they date coded? The early 80's flighters had their codes stamped directly above the 'in' as 'made in UK', plus a 45 marking on the cap. Are these pen similar? I haven't seen a mention of this type of finish before, I wonder how they were named?

 

The timeline appears logical though, the Coronets were late 70's with early style barrel caps, the TX and Harlequins were 1979/83 or thereabouts and so after 1984 there may have been an opening for a higher end 45 - the matte black finish was used on many lines around 1990's (arrow, 95, vector, classic). The one piece barrel puts them into the later style of production.

 

Yes, they are datecoded IL (3rd Q 1984) on the same line as the Parker/Made in UK imprints. I can't give any other info I'm afraid, I don't have the outer box so no clues as to the official name of the finish. Given their rarity I would hazard a guess that they were maybe test market pens and were never given a name as such??? They are the only matte black P45s I've seen apart from the Argentinian pens.

Edited January 14, 2011 by ceejaybee