Acacia or Bark

Notes

Designed by LeFevre and sold by specialty jewelry stores, this is a very rare pattern to find in a 75.  The fact that it was made of solid 18K gold and sold by names like Cartier, etc. meant that only buyers with deep pockets could afford this pen.

In a 1975 South African advertisement, this pen was called the Place Vendôme Presidential.  The price was Rand 500 or US $575 based on the government mandated conversion rate of US$1.15 per Rand established on September, 1975.  The Exchange rate obtained from the Library of Congress website which notes that from 1972 through August, 1975 the South African government allowed the Rand to float allowing market forces to determine the exchange rate.

The floating exchange rate through 1975 ranged from the low of this government-mandated rate to as high as US $1.48 per Rand (see historical data).  At this high an exchange rate, the price amounted to approximately US $750.