Mysterious Vacumatic Imprint

[Miyuki]

It's a little hard to make out in the photo, but I have found a Parker Vacumatic with an extra row in the barrel imprint area. It reminds me of the different font used for pricing on the older Sheaffer Balances but obviously this is a Parker and not a Sheaffer. (Those imprints never had letters in them anyway.)

 

The extra imprint says, "2S1" Does anyone know what it means? It's very clearly an S and not a 5 in hand. It's clear enough to be read without magnification too.

 

For more information about the pen itself, it is a Parker Vacumatic Major in [Laminated] Azure Pearl with a plastic plunger system and a date code of 5 (so 1945). It has a chevron band and a blue diamond clip. Nothing about this pen seems out of place with the exception of the extra imprint.

 

It is, as they say, a mystery. Please help me solve the case.

[Parker51]

The unusual imprint is not an imprint. It is a personalization. The type is slightly different.

Think of it as a personalized license plate, 2 S 1, to some one.

It s a cute way to have cheaply gotten it personalized. Sometimes back then one could get a few, typically three letters or numbers free, or at a minimal cost.

I have one with my grandfather's initials. M E C.

[Miyuki]

The unusual imprint is not an imprint. It is a personalization. The type is slightly different.

Think of it as a personalized license plate, 2 S 1, to some one.

It s a cute way to have cheaply gotten it personalized. Sometimes back then one could get a few, typically three letters or numbers free, or at a minimal cost.

I have one with my grandfather's initials. M E C.

 

I suppose that's possible. The cap band is also personalized though and with initials, WRH, and not the 2S1. Since the pen isn't new, of course, it could be that the pen got personalized twice with two different owners.

 

That's a bit disappointing though. I was hoping 2S1 was some sort of repair code or something.