It Seems To Be Raining Plums

[T1Love]

I agree. I think the plum color looks beautiful! I wonder why no one liked it back in the 40's.

[inkstainedruth]

I just looked at those two latest Ebay listings. Curious as to how high people think the set will go. Not bidding because I don't do sets, and mine is a Demi.

As for the other pen, how reallistic is the seller's expectation? Because while I got a good deal on mine a couple of years ago, I think it was in line with what non Plummers were going for at the time (slightly high because it *was* Plum). But has the markup really gone up this much? Is asking $245 US as a BiN what prices are like these days? Or is the seller smoking something? (You know, what used to get referred to as "the funny little twisted kind" of cigarettes....)

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[mitto]

I agree. I think the plum color looks beautiful! I wonder why no one liked it back in the 40's.

 

Had they liked it then some people would not have been after it now.

[pajaro]

 

Ahh ! plum being the color that can't show itself easily? What is then the use of having such a color? No offence intended ,though , to the plum 51 lovers. Just a thought to share.

 

I have been thinking along these lines for a long time. Yet, I cannot yet let go of my plum set. I think it was just something I wanted to get for many years, and finally did get one. Sort of like something on the bucket list. The only pen on my bucket list.

 

I like the midnight blue (have several) and forest green pens better. I think also that, since the emerggence of many of the plum pens on ebay, and there are more of them coming out of the woodwork now than when I was seeking one, the prices have gone down some from what I see on the prices realized. I am surmising that as old people die the plums come out in estate sales and get recycled in the market. When they are all sold the plums might seem less common until the next wave of collectors passes on.

[pajaro]

To all of you constantly reiterating how you got a steal on a plum, maybe you shouldn't confuse a steal with the usual price level for a comodity.

[mitto]

So where are the midnight blue and the forest green 51s? I don't often see them offered for sale. Can anyone find me a forest green 51? And a midnight blue 51? I couldn't find any in the local market/ auction sites for the last three to four years.

[Florida Blue]

So where are the midnight blue and the forest green 51s? I don't often see them offered for sale. Can anyone find me a forest green 51? And a midnight blue 51? I couldn't find any in the local market/ auction sites for the last three to four years.

 

I agree that those two colors are probably more uncommon than currently thought. Midnight Blue I think suffers from the same problem that Plum does, it looks black except in direct sunlight so it is often mistaken for black.

 

David I. once supposed that Midnight Blue might be as uncommon as Cocoa or Forest Green when taking into account how many he has come across in regards to other colors.

[claudewick]

So where are the midnight blue and the forest green 51s? I don't often see them offered for sale. Can anyone find me a forest green 51? And a midnight blue 51? I couldn't find any in the local market/ auction sites for the last three to four years.

 

I just got both from an antique store in a local action site. Both for USD 70 (shipping included). I replaced the ink sac (with a Nishimura pli-glass one) and polished the forest green, that is now in pretty good shape and writing very well too. The midnight blue is being a problem. I haven't been able to dismantle it. I've already run more than 50 cycles in the ultrasonic cleaner, soaked in hot water several times but the hood doesn't come off. I don't know what else can I do to make it work...

 

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y262/claudewick/2015-09-14%2022.10.45.jpg

 

And Mitto, keep looking, eventually you'll find.

 

 

 

Edited to insert the picture.

Edited September 15, 2015 by claudewick

[FarmBoy]

So where are the midnight blue and the forest green 51s? I don't often see them offered for sale. Can anyone find me a forest green 51? And a midnight blue 51? I couldn't find any in the local market/ auction sites for the last three to four years.

Blame the Syndicate.

[Cryptos]

The only working 51 I have left is an aero in midnight blue. I wouldn't say the colour was so dark that it suffers the same fate as the plum by looking black. Mine is pretty much the exact colour depicted on Binder's website. At the time of purchase, mid last year, I simply asked on here and someone came forth and sold it to me. Standard aero pricing too.

 

May not keep though, dunno.

[octatonic]

and still more rain...

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Parker-51-Fountain-Pen-Plum-Color-1949-/252107034594?hash=item3ab2c00fe2

 

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Parker-51-PLUM-Demi-VINTAGE-FOUNTAIN-PEN-1948-Aerometric-USA-Scarce-Color-/181865223246?hash=item2a5803144e

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-PARKER-51-Fountain-Pen-Pencil-Set-Rare-PLUM-Color-/231702028576?hash=item35f2846120&nma=true&si=hrGA6U4r%252BgUAutnKjoiLnnS6Vik%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1948-Parker-51-Demi-Plum-Color-P-P-Set-mint-N-O-S-w-price-stickers-mint-/151815454300?hash=item2358e7fe5c

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Great-Vintage-Parker-51-Mk-1-Plum-Single-Jewel-Fountain-Pen-/321858739755?hash=item4af0469e2b&nma=true&si=hrGA6U4r%252BgUAutnKjoiLnnS6Vik%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

 

They're everywhere now it seems, but not cheap...

[sirgilbert357]

They are no less common than any other item made in comparable numbers.

 

**HEAD EXPLODES**

 

 

LOL...

[sirgilbert357]

That may be why it wasn't popular at the time.... But it's true -- I had to take mine outside in bright sunlight to compare it to the black 51 Vac and the Burgundy 51 Special, and also (more recently) to compare it to the late Mark II burgundy Aero I picked up about a year ago.

So, why did *I* want one? Because it was purple. If it had been a "common" color like Black or Teal I would still have wanted one. Because it was purple. OTOH, Mustard, Buckskin Beige, Nassau Green and Cocoa are colors that do absolutely nothing for me. Don't care how "rare" they are. Don't want one in any of those colors.... Forest Green and Navy Grey are okay, but neither one makes me jump up and down.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

Exactly how I feel. Rarity in of itself does nothing for me. If I want it, then I want it...but if I already want it AND it is rare or becomes rare, I'll strive a bit harder to snag one before I miss out...

[pajaro]

So where are the midnight blue and the forest green 51s? I don't often see them offered for sale. Can anyone find me a forest green 51? And a midnight blue 51? I couldn't find any in the local market/ auction sites for the last three to four years.

 

Some people think forest green 51s are less common than plum. I am not so sure, having had a few of the forest green. When I sold them on ebay several years ago I got a good deal more for them than I expected.

 

I have four or five of the midnight blue still. It was the color of my father's 51, so I kept these. Midnight blue seemed more common than either plum or forest green.

 

Teal and navy gray are fairly common. Teal seems to appear in various shades from blue green to ultramarine. The navy gray is pretty consistent, but sometimes seems to have had something happen to it that makes it look like a pale green. It's interesting to collect these color varieties.

[pajaro]

The cocoa pens, the yellowstone pens, the nassau green pens and the buckskin beige pens are colors I like and they remind me of 1950s decor. I liked that time and I like these pens.

 

The cocoa pens remind me of women's legs, a favorite image. I love my near mint and frosty cocoa demi set.

[Cryptos]

 

**HEAD EXPLODES**

 

 

LOL...

 

I guess that's what I deserve for being unnecessarily cryptic.

Edited September 30, 2015 by Empty_of_Clouds

[OcalaFlGuy]

StyloBug, nice Plum orchard.

 

I think Octatonic has a couple more acres though.

 

He's had a PlumboNimbus storm near him lately.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl-who will now go to Octatonic for Plummer help if I need it

[inkstainedruth]

So where are the midnight blue and the forest green 51s? I don't often see them offered for sale. Can anyone find me a forest green 51? And a midnight blue 51? I couldn't find any in the local market/ auction sites for the last three to four years.

I thought Midnight Blue was supposed to be one of the more common colors. But every one I've seen on Ebay was for way more than I paid for the Plum Demi I've got -- if I see them at all (and I got extremely lucky on the Plummer price, IMO -- nearly every other one before or since went for way more money). The links that octatonic put up are, admittedly, more than I've ever seen a Midnight Blue go for, but most of the (few) Midnight Blue ones that I've seen have been around $125-$150 US.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[claudewick]

I've checked my backyard twice. If it's raining plums, it's elsewhere. Only water here.

[northstar]

Only sand at my place.

 

Best regards.