Is this a Nassau Green Parker 51?

[Emver]

I've just received a Vacumatic Parker 51 which the seller described as India Black.  I assumed that it was black until I looked a bit more closely, and I now realise that it is dark green, so now I'm wondering which shade of green it is.  I was thinking Forest Green, but some basic research on the internet suggests that the only green available for the Vacumatic 51 was Nassau Green.  I realise that colour representations on computer screens are unreliable, but all the websites I've seen show Nassau Green as a lighter shade than my pen, more like a Sage Green.  So has my pen darkened over time?

 

I'll attach a couple of photos. The new one is number 3, numbering from left to right, and is the one with the dented cap.  1 and 2 are black aerometrics which I added for comparison.  Number 4 is another green Vacumatic which I bought recently, and number 5 is another Vacumatic, but this time in grey.  The two green Vacumatics are similar shades of dark green, but both darker than the Nassau Green I've seen on the websites.

 

Any thoughts?

 

[bsenn]

Looks like different shades of cedar blue. A Nassau Green single jewel would be very rare.

 

Brian

[Paul-in-SF]

I don't think we're going to be able to tell from these photos. If you can take photos of the two "green" ones either in direct sunlight or under a white LED's light, the true color should be more evident. Otherwise, I agree with bsenn, they both look like Cedar Blue to me. 

[Emver]

Cedar Blue is a possibility I hadn't considered because the pen definitely looked green rather than blue to me earlier today. So if the sun comes out tomorrow I'll post some better photos.  But you two could be right. 

 

The pen also needs a new diaphragm despite the seller claiming that the filling system was fine, so the next job is to learn how to do that.  But the pen was cheap, even for one with dented cap and missing jewel, so I'm happy to to spend some time on it.

[Glenn-SC]

I don’t see a Nassau Green pen in those shown. 

[FarmBoy]

1 hour ago, Glenn-SC said:

I don’t see a Nassau Green pen in those shown. 

I agree 

[VacNut]

1 hour ago, FarmBoy said:

I agree 

Any chance there are pics of a Nassau Green 51 Set that are available for comparison?

[FarmBoy]

The first two pens are black Aerometrics. The first one should have a 1948 or 1949 date code. The second one should be later. 
 

The third pen has the wrong cap no matter what color it is. The clip has been replaced. The barrel is damaged at the filler seat. I would say it is cedar blue. 
 

the 4th pen looks Cedar blue and Ben is Dove Grey and has that earlier fat blind cap. 
 

 

[Emver]

Here are a couple more photos taken just now, with a couple of blue Duofolds added . It's a dull day here so they're not great photos, sorry, but they still look more green than blue to me. 

Does anybody happen to have a Nassau Green and a Cedar Blue, and if so could we see them side by side please?

[FarmBoy]

They still look blue to me.

[bsenn]

The photos here look about right to me  https://parkerpens.net/parker51.html

 

Brian

[Aysedasi]

3 hours ago, FarmBoy said:

They still look blue to me.

 

+1

[Carguy]

I agree…none of those look even remotely green to me and definitely not Nassau Green.

[Glenn-SC]

8 minutes ago, Carguy said:

I agree…none of those look even remotely green to me and definitely not Nassau Green.

+
 

Sorry, despite how much we may want it to be, it’s just not Nassau Green. 

[Glenn-SC]

6 hours ago, Emver said:

Does anybody happen to have a Nassau Green and a Cedar Blue, and if so could we see them side by side please?

Unfortunately, while I do have both, I am traveling and can’t provide the photo that you are looking for. 

[Emver]

The consensus seems to be that my two "green" pens are in fact Cedar Blue!   

I'm very happy to settle for that.

 

A couple of other issues still puzzle me slightly - see below.

[Emver]

11 hours ago, FarmBoy said:

The first two pens are black Aerometrics. The first one should have a 1948 or 1949 date code. The second one should be later. 
 

The third pen has the wrong cap no matter what color it is. The clip has been replaced. The barrel is damaged at the filler seat. I would say it is cedar blue. . 
 

the 4th pen looks Cedar blue and Ben is Dove Grey and has that earlier fat blind cap. 
 

 

FarmBoy, I'm curious about some of your statements.  I'm not disputing them, just curious about your reasoning.

 

Pen 1.  (in my original photos) is an Aerometric, made in England. What makes you think it's 1948 or 1949?  The cap or clip? It has a date code 1 which I take to be 1951.

 

Pen 2. Aerometric, but no date code.

 

Pen 3. Vacumatic with the inscription   PARKER "51"

                                                                 REGD TM 640214

                                                                 MADE IN ENGLAND

                                                                             9.

           Why do you think the cap is definitely wrong? It appears to be the same cap as Pen 4, apart from the dents               and the different clip.  Actually I thought it might be wrong at first, esp since the jewel is missing. but it does             seem identical to pen 4's cap.

           And I've just been looking at this page https://www.parker51.co.uk/the-history  The 6th cap from the top                   looks like mine, and calls it a "transition cap" usually fitted to Vacumatic 51s dated 1947-1948 and early                     Aerometrics dated 1948-1949. To add to the confusion, my Vacumatic seems to be dated 1949. Also the                   clip does seem a bit shorter than the one in that photo, more like a later clip.

 

Pen 4. Vacumatic with the inscription   PARKER "51"

                                                                  MADE IN USA   T.6

            So an American P51 made in 1946, presumably from the Toronto factory.

 

Pen 5. Vacumatic. I can't find any inscriptions on this apart from Ben's name, unless I'm looking in the wrong place.

           But at least we can all agree that it's a grey one!

 

[Ron Z]

I have a Nassau in the shop, so took a picture of the pen next to a Blue Cedar, which is on top in the picture.  The Nassau below is green.

 

 

[Emver]

Thank you Ron.

Regards

Mike

[Paul-in-SF]

16 hours ago, Ron Z said:

I have a Nassau in the shop, so took a picture of the pen next to a Blue Cedar, which is on top in the picture.  The Nassau below is green.

 

 

 

Yep. I once bought one that was supposed to be Nassau Green that was actually Navy Grey. Oh well, lived and learned.