Which Parker 51 Cap Is Legit?

[Venemo]

On the left side, there is the usual Parker 51 cap shape that I was already familiar with.

 

On the right, it's a cap that came with a Parker 51 that I recently got from ebay.

It has the 51 printed on it along with "1/10 12K GF" then "Made in USA". However it's suspicious to me that it has a somewhat slimmer apperance, a smaller jewel and a longer arrow clip.

 

 

Can the cap on the right side of the picture be legit for the pen it came with? The pen is an otherwise ordinary looking aerometric 51 with the filler that has the black plastic bit at the top and the "To fill press ribbed bar firmly 4 times..." imprint and a barrel that says "Made in England". I think the fact that the barrel comes from England and the cap from the USA is quite suspicious. However, I'm pretty sure I've read about some early aerometric 51s that have a longer clip, so maybe this is just one of those?

 

What do you guys think?

[joss]

The cap on the right is correct for the Mark III (last version) of the Parker 51. That is the version with flat barrel top and without black plastic button on top the Aerometric sleeve.

See this example:

http://parker51.com/index.php/51s/51-versions (bottom of page)

www.peytonstreetpens.com/parker-51-aerometric-mark-iii-black-gold-filled-cap-fine-near-mint.html

 

So the cap is legit but possibly not original to the pen it came with although there were transition models. But the mix of a Made in USA cap with a Made in England barrel is also likely not correct.

[Carguy]

The cap on the right could also be from a 61, which fit nicely on the MKIII 51, but I think it would say 61 if it were such cap.

[Venemo]

Thanks guys for the quick reply. I've also found this other thread: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/301520-help-to-identificate-parker-51-caps/ where a similarly sized cap is identified as being from 1948-49. Is it possible that mine is also from that era? Or is this more likely just a MKIII 51 cap?

[joss]

Thanks guys for the quick reply. I've also found this other thread: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/301520-help-to-identificate-parker-51-caps/ where a similarly sized cap is identified as being from 1948-49. Is it possible that mine is also from that era? Or is this more likely just a MKIII 51 cap?

The cap in that thread is different: you have to differentiate between the Parker 51 cap with the "long arrow" clip, which was 1948-49, and the Parker 51 Mark III with the "long feather" clip.

 

The cap with long feather clip, as Carguy explains, is typical for the Parker 61 but was also adopted for the the P51 Mark III. Your cap will indeed fit a Parker 61 too but because your cap is marked "51" on the cap lip, it is definitely meant for a Parker 51 Mark III.

[Venemo]

The cap in that thread is different: you have to differentiate between the Parker 51 cap with the "long arrow" clip, which was 1948-49, and the Parker 51 Mark III with the "long feather" clip.

 

The cap with long feather clip, as Carguy explains, is typical for the Parker 61 but was also adopted for the the P51 Mark III. Your cap will indeed fit a Parker 61 too but because your cap is marked "51" on the cap lip, it is definitely meant for a Parker 51 Mark III.

I see.

So it is definitely a mismatch for this pen.

 

Thanks for explaining that, Joss!

[Venemo]

Would anyone be willing to trade this Mark III cap for something that is proper for my Mark I Parker 51?