Civil War Era Mechanical Pencil

[gcaso7176]

Hi everyone! I recently picked up this mechanical pencil that I believe to be from the civil war era. It is a slide pencil, has a screwable jewel top, and the name "Ezra C. Dean" engraved on it. The mechanical mechanism slides in and out, the jewel top comes off, and the hook loop on it also slides. I'm looking for more information on this such as who made it, when was it made, what is it exactly, what is its worth, that sort of thing. Any and all help is much appreciated. Thank you!

Pictures can be found here because they are too big/too many to upload

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1y0mBbdECrPOceGDBoCoLkEj-yrhHq12v

[Bo Bo Olson]

I can't date it........but they were called propelling pencils back then. Nice looking pen.....often kept in vest pockets. 3 Piece suit was normal.

 

I have a couple from the late 19th century and couple from @ 1900-1910.

 

Look to see if you can find a silver hallmark.

[gcaso7176]

@PenDust thanks for your response! I had the same thinking that it would be worn inside of a suit vest; it makes sense that there would be a chain attached to the pen's loop.

Any idea on where I can find this silver hallmark--what is that and what would it look like?

And a possible idea on value? I'm hoping I didn't overpay for it

[AAAndrew]

I'm no expert, but this form, in general, can be found from the early to the later 19th-century.

 

If it has hallmarks they will look like tiny stamps of shapes/letters/numbers. Hallmarks are found on English and European examples, but rarely on American examples.

 

These were made by a lot of different companies. Unless a stamp or other mark is found we may never know exactly who made it. I'm pretty sure Ezra C. Dean was the owner who had their name engraved on it.

 

Most of these were either gold-fill or gold plated. This one is probably gold fill, which means a fairly low-level of gold, but is more reliably gold-looking than plate, which can rub off.

 

It's a nice example of one, and most likely earlier in the 19th-century rather than later, so could possibly be civil-war era. And BTW, a nice example from the 1880's is really no more valuable than a similar one from the 1860's.

 

I'm definitely not an expert in value, but I'm curious what you paid?

 

Mind if I share the pictures with an outside forum with experts who will know something more than I do?

[Karmachanic]

Civil War? Didn't know mechanical pencils were a thing in 1642.

Edited February 25, 2019 by Karmachanic

[Bo Bo Olson]

  On 2/25/2019 at 4:52 PM, Karmachanic said:

Civil War? Didn't know mechanical pencils were a thing in 1642.

:lticaptd:1776 too when one gets down to it............1930's for the Spanish one.

Hall Marks.....The other use of a 10X good glass loupe(40X Chinese is the same power)

 

Rolled Gold or Filled Gold are different levels of sheet gold (One is just at or under 5% and the other at or below 7% of weight...if I remember correctly.) pressed under extreme pressure on a base metal.

Pocket watch cases use to be warranted for 20 or 25 years depending on how thick the gold was. The case was stronger than 14 K.