On July 31st President George Bush and President Mikhail Gorbachev signed the first of two Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START). This treaty called for the elimination of almost 50 percent of the nuclear warheads carried by long-range ballistic missiles, the first time the US and USSR agreed to reduce their weapons stockpiles.
Opening the leather-covered outer box reveals a wooden box that has the seals of the two Presidents laser engraved..
When the wooden box is opened, the top inner lid has the signatures and titles of the signatories. This was also done to the cap of each pen.
President Bush's pen
President Gorbachev's pen
The pen used for this signing, like the 1990 treaty signing, was a smooth, custom-made sterling silver 75 Keepsake but this time plated with 22-karat gold. Matching the burgundy leather exterior box, the cap tassie was crowned with a red star sapphire.
These pens were rollerballs not fountain pens, fitted with the more luxurious Premier RB section that has the goldplated tip, collar, and familiar triangular grip.
Here is a close look on the laser-engraved signatures and titles on the cap.
To top it off, the cap has a nice burgundy star sapphire.
So what are these pens and how could anyone other than Mssrs Bush and Gorbachev possess them? (Of course, I would expect Parker to also have a set!) My theory is that Parker made several of these and only chose the pair that was perfect. After all, the owners were to be the two leaders of our planet's superpower nations. Therefore this pen must not have been good enough to become the real treaty pen. Perhaps through some friendship a collector was given/sold these pens by a Parker employee. If you know, please email me.
Find out more about this treaty here.