Yes folks, Parker did indeed have a coin available in the Spanish Treasure Fleet (STF) 75 package! But why are there so few coins found with the STF package? I wondered about this myself, as I saw many Spanish Treasure Fleet pens being sold without this coin.
There are two prevailing theories that I have heard. One is that all STF had the coin but that either the Parker dealers or purchasers of these pens separated the coin from the package and sold them so as to reduce the net cost of the pen itself. After all, this limited edition did cost three times the normal $25 price of the sterling silver crosshatch grid 75. A second theory is that the coin was an option to be ordered with the STF, perhaps costing as much as an additional $25 bringing the total package price to $100.
Which is correct? I don't know and I welcome comments from the readership whose memories of those days can shed some light on this question.
Here is evidence that Parker never packaged the coin with pen itself!
Obverse (front) or Shield side of coin |
Reverse (back) or Cross side of coin |
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