The Parker 51 Mk. III was introduced in 1969, and gave way to the Mk. lV in 1971. This is a Mk. lll pen, only made for a very short period. It is in mint, unused condition throughout.
The pen is finished in Rage Red with a 'Lustralloy' cap which carries a Chrome plated 'arrow' clip and a pearl grey end stud. This was replaced with an integral metal stud in 1971, apparently there was some concern about toddlers ingesting the pearl stud! This pen therefore had a very short production run, always a good sign for collectors.
The pen came to me as unused and a through inspection suggests that this is the case. The pen body is flawless with a deep, lustrous shine, the 'Lustralloy' cap shows no dings and still has full frosting. The original 'pli-glass' ink sac is unstained.
The bright 'Rage Red' colour is very hard to come by in a vintage 51 although it has been copied by Parker with the 'New 51', a very different pen. The colour is much 'redder' than any aother Parker colour, it is shown, in the last phot,o against the more common Burgundy.
The original box is also in excellent condition with a spotless satin lined interior.
Despite being around fifty years old the Parker 51 Mk. III still has a modern appearance but with all the Parker 51 prestige. It would make a great vintage every day user.