Parker 51 Identification

By Published Parker, Tutorials, U.S.A., Vintage

I spent the afternoon trying to figure out which models of Parker 51 I have. To do this, I used the system at http://www.parkercollector.com/parker51.html, which is a great source of information, but a little difficult for me to decipher. So, to speed up the process, I wrote down the salient identifiers, which I then turned into the decision chart you see below.

Note that this classification system is slightly different than the ones in David Shepherd’s book “Parker 51” and the information at parker51.com.

Examples

Date stamp on the bottom of the nib.
Imprint at the top of the barrel. The 8 on the bottom is the last digit in the year of manufacture.
Two examples of the Halo logo that started with the MK III-C in 1960
The “51” imprint on the cap lip, starting in 1964.
Two examples of the cap lip. Notice how the one on the left has a single quotation mark on the left of the 51, but a double on the right.

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