Monday, August 31, 2009

Parker Vacumatic with Mismatched Nib. To Worry or Not?

Another question was sent in, representing a not uncommon situation in Vacumatic collecting...

-----

David, you kindly gave me some advice a few months ago (see below), so
I'm now taking the liberty of asking for some more, and would be most
interested to hear your thoughts, if possible...

The dilemma revolves around mismatched vacs and nibs. I've seen a US-
made vac in terrific condition, with a Canadian nib. The nib is a
particularly good one ie not your regular old F nib but a broader nib
with flex. What are your thoughts as a vac collector on this? Do you
think the merits of the nice nib outweigh the negatives of the mismatch?


----

I will dive into some detail, but the simple answer is that- especially if found in an otherwise common model- the value added finding a flexible broad-ish nib is well more significant than the value reduced due to a USA/Canadian parts mismatch.

I'll toss out a few beliefs/insights/assertions...
  1. Many areas of collecting remains subjective. There are tendencies and generalities one can cite, but often no rules, per se. One must ultimately decide what makes him comfortable, while also recognizing general views of the greater collecting population.
  2. Several aspects of nib mismatch can be considered: a) size/style, b) year (for those with date codes), c) location of manufacture.
  3. While there was some cross pollination from Parker USA and Parker Canada during the 1940's, one generally would not expect to find original Vacumatics featuring nibs and barrels marked from the two different nations.
  4. Generally, if only the nib deviates only from expectations of otherwise consistent cap/barrel findings- at least regarding source of pen- then the impact is modest. Finding monotone instead of two tone nib or finding wrong size nib (it can happen) has greater value hit.
  5. Most Vacumatics have firm fine-ish nibs. As some (most?) collectors do cherish finding old pens with off-the-beaten-path nibs, finding a common Vac with a great nib adds value. Less value is added to higher priced pens, as generally collectors are willing to add value for rarity/cachet of pen or for special nib, but not for both. Diminishing returns I s'pose.
  6. While special nibs are more common in Canadian pens than in USA Parker pens, and thus (at least in pen academe) a funky Canadian nib adds less value to a Vac than a funky nib with USA markings, there still is value added from a "better" Canadian nib.
When all is said and done, among serious and knowledgeable collectors, different people will hold different views, but generally I'd expect your pen to be one about which not to worry.

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