The Parker Victory Mk.V. made it's debut in 1953 as Parker introduced the 'aerometric' filling system to all the U.K. Duofolds. The pen was available in four solid colours: Black, Blue, Green, and Red, with rolled Gold trim and a 14Ct. Gold nib.
Finished in Red, this pen is an excellent example, it is a good sized, well balanced and hansdsome pen with a solid and well made feel. The surface is pristine, it has a deep shine and a legible barrel imprint. The cap, which has a red end stud, is a smooth screw fit, tightening with one and a half turns.
The pen has been fully serviced and tested, the filling system works well and the correct 14Ct. Gold number nib writes with a medium line and has a small, but very effective, amount of flex giving line variation.
The nib is unususal in that it is stamped with the letter 'R'. These 'R' nibs do turn up from time to time and there has been much discussion about the significance of the stamping. The nib is exactly the same as other Victory V nibs in all other respects, although most are not semi flexible. It has been suggested that the 'R' signifies a factory replacement nib but I doubt that Parker, given their reputation for parsimony, would have manufactured nibs that nay not be needed. As nibs made in Newhaven often carried an 'N' stamp, it is possible that these nibs were made, albeit in small numbers, in some other factory for a time, perhaps at a location beginning with R.
At well over six inches in length when posted for use this is a very long and elegant pen, it would make an eyecatching and reliable every day vintage writer.