Cap Banditry. Hunting Off-Catalogue  Sheaffer Balance Cap-Bands (cover) Introduction Sheaffer’s 1929-1941 Balance is a classic collectable pen.  Company documentation for this series is amongst the best available for any period pen,  and we are blessed today with at least  nine  catalogues,  with  key company brochures,  and with innumerable advertisements.  Collectors  thus have a legitimately strong sense of  Balance’s  catalogued (and more broadly, documented) range.  Off-catalogue variants are known, pens in particular with special cap-bands;  this perhaps should not cause surprise, given that the  series  was successful, long running and of high quality, with a large model range, manufactured by a major player  involved in many markets.   Such pens spice the collecting cholent  no doubt.  Balances with special cap-band styles  offer challenges  to collectors including: identifying available variants, understanding  their purpose(s)  in the Sheaffer continuum,  assessing rarity and cachet, and-- yes-- acquiring pens for personal collections.  Within the context of typical catalogued  variants, I will address the first three of these challenges.  Regarding the fourth challenge, I fear you will have to hunt on your own for the actual pens; some secrets stay with me. Period Sheaffer catalogues show each  Balance  variant with  a single smooth cap-band, done either chrome plated, gold-filled, or solid-gold,  the cap-band’s   size  and composition  dependent on the given pen’s tier-- its position  in the Balance  hierarchy, based on trim, nib type, price, etc.  For catalogued pens the  full-ball clip of 1929-1934 then the flat-ball clip used from 1934-1935 (through 1941 on lower tier pens) are  imprinted “Sheaffer’s”, unlike the smooth radius clip used on higher tier pens from 1935 onward.  The catalogued exceptions include the solid-gold-trim Autograph line and the all-gold Masterpiece, which have smooth (no “Sheaffer’s” imprint) clips independent of clip shape. Known off-catalogue cap-band findings include: a)  patterned non-single (double and  triple) cap-bands,  b) patterned single extra-wide ( fish-scale  and the lined jeweler’s)  cap-bands, c) smooth but unusually wide (or narrow)  single cap-bands,   and  d) “special-color”  Autographs, pens with solid gold cap-bands of typical size found on colors (and even other Sheaffer series)  not catalogued with solid gold  trim.   I suspect pens from  first two categories  (patterned cap-bands)  served a different purpose than did both  the  special color Autograph pens and pens with  cap-bands simply extra wide or narrow.  Special smooth (lacking the  “Sheaffer’s” imprint)  clips are found on special cap-band pens that carry the flat-ball clip, emphasizing that affected pens  are  dedicated products and not merely casual cap-band upgrades. The always-smooth later-era radius clip used on higher-line pens sees no difference when matched to special cap-bands.  The early (1929-1934) full-ball (“humped”) clip pens with special cap-bands generally have normal “Sheaffer’s”-imprinted clips, but occasional examples appear with smooth full-ball clips; perhaps the decision to release special smooth clips occurred near the switch from full-ball to flat-ball clip. Dating  the Patterned Off-Catalogue Cap-Bands Dating the first appearance of each of the special cap-bands is based largely on observation. Whilst  the double cap-band makes the earliest appearance among the special cap-bands (late 1930 or 1931) and whilst desk pens are documented ( though not catalogued, per se) by Sheaffer  with double barrel bands in 1931, the other USA-based special patterns-- triple, fish-scale, and jeweler’s (vertically lined)--  first appear at the earliest  in mid-late 1934. This is based on finding all  three of those patterns on pens featuring both  the  flat-ball clip (believed introduced in mid-late 1934) and  colors already in use by that time: the first Grey Pearl (red-veined gray) and Ebonized Pearl (black with mother-of-pearl chips).  As both colors still are documented in 1935, the first appearance of triple, fish-scale  and milled cap-bands might be as late as 1935.  Based on the  polling of  several of the great collections,  these three cap-band styles do not appear on pens with the earlier full-ball clip or with earlier colors. Explaining the Off-Catalogue Cap-Bands When confronted by uncatalogued and/or otherwise anomalous  pens,  collectors variably invoke-- or perhaps retreat to-- a series of words that taken in their entirety can account for nearly any strange finding.  A rapid fire sequence passes through the gray matter:  “Prototype”, “Experiment”, “Frankenpen/Mixture”, “Transitional”, “Lunchtime Special”,  “Niche Market” (eg. specific promotion, store, region or season), and “Special Order”.  Some terms inherently are ambiguous.   Some lend themselves to grandiose  use, allowing the owner of said pens to embrace undue puffery.  Some are well overused today.   Most-- even if  ultimately accurate  for specific pens-- do not lend themselves to easy proof.    Fortunately, we  readily can dismiss several from subsequent consideration. That  the double band, the  triple band,  and the wide single non-smooth  cap-bands were used for years argues overwhelmingly against prototype or experimental goals and argues against the infamous lunchtime special notion,  the idea that factory line workers with too much time on their hands created anomalies just… because.  Whilst caps, barrels and nibs  often can be mixed inappropriately by collectors, mixes  cannot  explain  the very existence of pens with these  cap-bands, as no potential donor pens exist; too there is huge  physical  challenge to swapping  cap-bands .  We are left it seems with the concepts of  niche market and of special order.  Niche markets might have included the annual  holiday season,  a particular geographic region,  a category of store or even a particular store chain, thus explaining  the frankly rare double, triple, and fish-scale cap-bands  and the merely  relatively uncommon  lined jeweler’s cap-bands. Special order/special purpose notions  go a long way to explain  smooth but  extra wide or unexpectedly narrow cap-bands as well as the findings of solid-gold (Autograph) trim on special color pens and even on Sheaffer pen-pencil combos. Customers (end users) could have requested special variants, perhaps from special order lists lost to history, perhaps by custom request.  Pens meant for awards or for advertising might have had special features.  This is speculative, but it provides context for further discussion. Double Decorative Cap-band The off-catalogue   double  (double deco) cap-band appears on pens from at earliest late 1930  through at least 1938, perhaps later.  It is the earliest  special cap-band pattern  found on Balance.   Pens  are found  starting with  the early full-ball clip in  early colors  including Black-and-Pearl and the  first (mottled, not striped) Marine Green,  whilst no other special cap-band styles  are known on pens of those  early colors.   All the  Black-and-Pearl full length pens I’ve seen  so far  have normal length barrels, not the extra-long barrels found with the earliest (1929 or so)  of the early-era Balances, and all have the internal  lever ring (rather than lever-pin), the ring currently believed (but not proven) to have been introduced in late 1930.  The full-ball clips, expected with  early-era colors,  are overwhelmingly (but not absolutely)  of the typical catalogued “Sheaffer’s”-imprinted  sort; occasionally, however,  special smooth full-ball clips are seen.  Special smooth (no “Sheaffer’s” imprint)  flat-ball clips are the rule  during  the 1934-1935 flat-ball-clip era.  Later  radius-clip pens in late-era striated colors are known,  though  both known examples are  better-tier pens, thus having typical smooth radius clip. No radius-clip-era  low-tier (which still feature the flat-ball clip) pens are known; if any exist, they probably have the  special smooth flat-ball clip. Their absolute rarity  limits discussion of relative rarity amongst the colors,  since in any given color fewer than ten-twenty double deco cap-band pens are widely known-- counting all the great collections-- save perhaps for the mottled Marine Green,  which in my experience  is the most prevalent color.  The double cap-band is predominantly an early era finding, found less frequently on middle-era colors and remarkably rarely on late-era colors.   I know of a grand total of two late-color  pens amongst numerous possible  sizes, colors and trim tiers.  I own a standard size striated Marine Green pen and have seen image of a slender striated Gray Pearl (not “Grey Pearl”, as the earlier two gray colors were named)  pen. Rare, baby. Triple Decorative Cap-Band Triple decorative (triple deco) cap-band pens (thin-fat-thin) I consider more scarce even  than the double cap-band pens, though limited sample again  muddies that assessment.  This cap-band first appears at earliest in mid-late 1934, possibly as late as 1935.   All flat-ball-clip pens have the special smooth clip.  First appearing with  Grey Pearl #1 (gray-with-red-veins) and with  Ebonized Pearl, it is found also with the 1935 Grey Pearl #2 (gray-pearl/black mottled) and even makes it to the late Balance era, appearing on just  one known brown striped (a 1937-1941 color) oversized pen, a pen I’m honored to own.  In fourteen years collecting I doubt I’ve seen even twenty triple cap-band pens. Image X- Triple Cap-band The “Fish-Scale” Cap-band Perhaps more scarce than the double cap-band though seemingly a bit  less rare than the patterned  triple cap-band is the extra wide patterned  single band called “fish-scale”  by collectors. This appears on White Dot and non White Dot models;  pens range  from slender to oversized.    This cap-band first appears at earliest in  mid-late 1934, possibly as late as 1935.   All flat-ball clip pens have the special smooth clip.  First appearing with  Grey Pearl #1 (gray-with-red-veins) and with  Ebonized Pearl, it is found also with the 1935 Grey Pearl #2 (gray-pearl/black mottled) and makes a stronger appearance in later years than does the triple cap-band, being found comparatively more frequently with the 1935+ radius clip and in 1936+ striated colors, including (so far) Carmine, Marine Green and Brown.   The triple cap-band thus was used at least through 1939, perhaps as late as 1941.  Fish-scale was the last  of the off-catalogue USA-sourced styles I discovered,  my first encounter being at a Long Island Pen Show some years back with  an oversized Ebonized Pearl set I unfortunately did not purchase, due to price . I do harbor some regrets,  as I’ve never seen another in that size-and-color. Canadian Edge-Lined Wide Cap-Band. I’ve  seen the  double cap-band on Canadian pens, and have seen a questionably Canadian wide-milled jeweler’s cap-band pen; there is some debate about whether the jeweler’s  cap-band crossed  the border to Canada.  I’ve yet to see triple band or fish-scale cap-band Canadian pens, though that does not not preclude  their existence.   Sheaffer  in Canada does appear  to have had a minority  Balance cap-band all  its own,  wide and smooth save for a few circumferential lines at top and bottom.   I’ve seen very few (and acquired all I’ve seen);  all so far are in late striped plastic, dating at earliest to ~1937.  For more about  these, see the last issue of PENnant. The “Jeweler’s” Cap-bands The collector-named  jeweler’s cap-band-- single,  extra wide, with  milled (lined) pattern-- overwhelmingly is the most commonly found off-catalogue cap-band; it is the one for which the most available (though still quite sparse) Sheaffer documentation exists.  Whilst a   detailed treatment of the Jeweler’s cap-band would warrant a dedicated article, we can cover the basics and explore a couple quirks. Along with most of the special patterns, it first appears at earliest in mid-late 1934, found on gray-with-red-veins and Ebonized Pearl pens with flat-ball clip.   It is found on all subsequent catalogued colors and even appears on the 1941 military-clip Balance, giving a ~ late 1934-1941 run. The cap-band itself is found in  two sizes, the narrower (which lacks cartouche for personalization)  generally associated with the  lower couple Balance tiers particularly with pens of slender size. The wider variant (with cartouche) is far more prevalent today, and is found on pens of all three diameters, generally with cap features  of the top two tiers, sometimes with features that blur the lines that usually separate Balance’s typical catalogued models/tiers. Consider the Sheaffer Balance Mercury,  one of a few Jeweler’s cap-band pens with known  model names.   Save for its special cap-band, Mercury at first blush  appears to be  a typical  late-era  2nd tier Balance (radius clip, non-White Dot) done in the long-slender size, but such is not the case.  Whilst  Sheaffer catalogues pens with typical smooth cap-band in a couple sizes with the radius-clip, non-White Dot cap, it doesn’t catalogue  such a creature  specifically in the long-slender size.  In this size,  the catalogue offers a 1st tier White-Dot pen with this clip and a third tier non-white-dot pen with the lower-tier flat-ball clip.  Mercury’s cap thus has special features even beyond its fancy  cap-band.   And, that’s not all.  During Balances late era  all catalogued  2nd tier (radius-clip cap without the White Dot) pens carry  the Feathertouch #5 two-tone nib, yet the long/slender  Mercury (along with  its short/slender sister, Diana)  has a  lower tier  monotone #3 nib; Mercury and Diana thus blend   seemingly  2nd-tier   caps with  third tier nibs.     With special model name, with special cap-band, with special additional cap features and with special arrangement  between nib and clip, Balance Mercury  well illustrates there was  more to special cap-band pen production and marketing  than simply slapping fancy cap-bands on typical pens.  Let’s now carry this observational study beyond funky pattern Balance cap-bands and address special behavior of smooth cap-bands. Special Autograph (gold trim) Pens: Colors and Cap-band Width. Catalogued pens  from Balance’s Autograph line each have  a single, wide,  solid 14 karat  gold cap-band, usually with a solid gold clip as well. The first known Balance  catalogue from 1930 shows such pens in black, Marine Green (mottled),  and Black/Pearl. Later catalogues show black alone.  Cap-bands all are the same  width, independent of pen size.   Autograph pens occasionally  are found in off-catalogue colors, or with an extra-wide cap-band. I’ve seen off-catalogue Autograph pens in  red-veined-gray (Sheaffer’s 1st Grey Pearl) and  in Ebonized Pearl, as well as just one  oversized striated brown pen  and  just one 1941 military-clip pen in  Carmine.  Perhaps other colors will emerge.  These certainly could  have been easy special order items back in the day.  Perhaps one day we will find a Sheaffer pamphlet declaring, “Autograph style pens in other colors available at customer’s request”.  The “Rudy” Autograph Sheaffer Combos support the notion of special order special color Autographs.   Too, we see   frankly rare Autograph pens with extra-wide cap-band.  All  I’ve seen have been  oversized black pens, some with an “award pen” flavor. A pair of solid-gold-trim Autograph pens support special order production at Sheaffer; the “star” award pen so far is unique-to-hobby.  It features a golden star  above the clip, in place of the usual White Dot, and has extra wide cap-band.  Aftermarket modification is excluded by the presence of a proper White Dot seen hiding on the back of the cap. Clearly,  Sheaffer made the pen to accommodate the special star.  Also one-known is an Autograph Balance with solid gold cap-band of typical girth but with relatively  raised rims thus with an overt indentation centrally.  I call it the wheel rim cap-band as it resembles a car rim, sans tire. Special  Metal (non 14k) Autograph (solid gold trim) Pens All catalogued Autograph  (solid gold trim) Balances have 14 karat trim.  Rare pieces exist with gold trim that is not 14k, though (so far) still of typical cap-band width; I own one and have heard of maybe a couple other pens  done in 18k trim.  Whilst the pens carry no other special markings, collectors have hypothesized these were meant for the French market, where items reportedly could  not be offered as solid gold if < 18k. Still, whilst  my for-France Parker Vacumatics have 18k-marked nibs, the only 18k-trim Balance I own has no visible special markings on what might be a typical 14k nib, noting I have not removed nib from pen to explore hidden areas.  Recently I stumbled onto my first 10-k Autograph, this one having a gold-filled clip.  SpecialSeries Autograph: Autograph Combinations wIf ever there were a Balance-related series  that screams  "special order"  instead of invoking the niche/limited market,  it is the "Rudy" Sheaffer combos.  Sheaffer’s pen-pencil Combination (collectors generally call these, “combos”)  is  catalogued only in non White Dot (non Lifetime) form, in three colors  in 1930  and in one color (black) in 1935.  An off-catalogue fourth color (mottled Marine Green) fairly frequently is found, and relatively uncommon off-catalogue White Dot pens are known . Where things get a bit crazy is with off-catalogue Autograph (solid gold cap-band and clip) combos. Too, combos cease  to appear in Sheaffer catalogues well  before striped green pens appear, yet "Rudy" combos are known in striped green.    A mere handful are known to the hobby, and nearly all (perhaps truly all) are marked as gifts from someone named… Rudy.  Was “Rudy”… Rudy Vallee?  The inscriptions on all three combos in the image  bear the same basic penmanship,  suggesting all were all given by the same Rudy.    The early  (mottled) Marine Green  is engraved  "From Rudy to Major L."  No great clues here.  The real supportive  clues  come from the engravings on the late (striped) Marine Green Rudy combos which are engraved: "from Rudy to Hugh Cummings"  and "From Rudy To Nels Laakso".  Hugh Cummings was a Hollywood screenwriter and director and a contemporary of Mr. Valle in Hollywood.  Nels Laasko, another contemporary of Mr. Vallee, played the trumpet/coronet in a band which performed music for one of Mr. Vallee's movies and which Mr. Vallee brought to Hollywood. 1 The great rarity of and specific gift-giver associated with the Autograph Sheaffer combos provide remarkable  support for special-order status, and lend tangential  support to the other special-color Balance Autographs being special order as well.  The "Rudy" Autograph combos are known in both Marine Greens, the mottled combo dating to earliest mid-late 1934 in view of the relatively late (for that color) flat-ball clip, which is smooth (expected  for  an Autograph),  to at least 1937, as that is when the striated Marine Green first appeared, that color running through 1941 for Balance. Extra Wide  Smooth Gold-Filled Cap-Bands Black Balances  exist with gold-filled trim and with  off-catalogue extra-wide single cap-bands, with more than one special width known.  I’ve seen just one with a moderately wide cap-band, found in fact whilst  I was writing this article; it is of same size as a known extra-wide but also undocumented gold-filled cap-band found on an earlier flat-top Sheaffer.  An ultra-wide band has been  found  on an award pen of sorts, packing again a  special order flavor, given by a corporation to a successful salesman. In addition to the band inscribed with the award, the clip features a crimped company logo. First Tier- Third Tier Fusion Pen. White-Dot, Thin Cap-Band. Fairly scarce  slender pens in late-era colors exist which  seemingly  blend  the 1st-tier Balance Sovereign (White Dot, radius clip, hefty cap-band  and Lifetime nib) with the 3rd-tier Balance Craftsman ( non-White Dot, flat-ball clip, thin cap-band,  and #3 nib),  making a ‘“fusion” pen, with White Dot, Lifetime nib, thin cap-band,  and flat-ball clip.  Fusion pens  have an added tell, in that the flat-ball clips are smooth, lacking the expected “Sheaffer’s” imprint,  thus indicating  a special-role flavor.  Balances meant to be  private advertising/corporate  pens are known, pens based on the 3rd-tier Craftsman but with the special smooth flat-ball clip, marked with corporate barrel logos (still with the Sheaffer barrel imprint) and/or with crimped-to-clip  company badges. Such special Craftsman pens are closer  in appearance to the fusion pen, but still lack the White Dot and Lifetime nib found with this special pen. Enough fusion pens are found to disfavor simple accidental production.  Did Sheaffer make White-Dot variants meant to take company logos, some having escaped the plant  before acquiring non-Sheaffer corporate markings?  I have yet to see one of these fusion pens with corporate logos, thus I cannot prove that purpose, and in any case  the already catalogued Sovereign would have well served that niche. Could leftover pre-advertising  non-White Dot pens have been fitted with the White Dot to help get rid of them?  Seems like too much hassle. Could they have served another imagined purpose, say serving as pens for internal consumption, given  or sold only to Sheaffer employees, allowing easy tracking of pens, as they differed then from any sold to the public?   I... don't... know. All the fusion pens I’ve seen are slender (both long and short) late-era pens with gold-filled trim.  I’ve seen at least black, striped green and striped brown pens. Sheaffer Documentation for the Off Catalogue Cap-Bands. What Sheaffer information do we have for these off-catalogue pens? Well.. remarkably little. By definition, such  pen  don’t appear  in known catalogues.   I know of one illustrated reference to the double band pattern, though only as barrel bands for a desk pen  not as cap-bands for pocket pen, in Sheaffer’s October 1931 Retailer’s Review. Of note such pens are found in a  section specified for jewelers, separated from pens offered to dealers in general.  Beyond this , I know of tiny snippets of company material just  for the lined jeweler’s cap band and only for the wider of its two  styles.  For the jeweler’s cap-band, information both precious and scarce  is  found in a couple  known adverts, in price codes on pen barrels,  in model codes and prices on clip tags, and in model names on  foil labels in boxed sets and on barrel stickers. A couple ~ 1936 adverts in a private collection  show a crude illustration of a Jeweler’s cap-band pen in context  of Sheaffer’s connection with the  Gregg Writing School. The cap-band pattern is not specifically cited in the ad text. These ads illustrate the cap-band, thus formally connecting  it to Sheaffer, but they do not provide further enlightenment. Starting perhaps in 1937 or 1938, Sheaffer began marking  pen prices (in cents) on pen barrels (e.g.. “1000” is found heat stamped  on $10 Premier and Statesman models). Too, in 1938, quite late in Balance’s run, it introduced model names for its catalogued pens. Thus for pens starting  1937-1938 there is potential now  to find novel barrel price imprints  and  novel model names for special cap-band pens.  Most off-catalogue cap-band pens  from 1938-1941  carry the lined jeweler’s cap-band.  Whilst  nearly all  Jeweler’s cap-band pens-- even with  late era colors -- lack barrel price codes,   rare price-coded  examples  have appeared; the prices found indeed are greater than those of  related typical catalogued pens.   A couple price-tagged pens  have turned up, confirming model codes unique to this special cap-band and reflecting/confirming the higher price point for at least some of the  special cap-band pens.  I know of  four late-era special  model names based on foil tags in boxed sets and on barrel stickers,  names never used for catalogued siblings. This information is golden.   The existence of formal model codes, of formal model names and of dedicated prices  argue  that the special pattern cap-band pens were not just special order items, but were dedicated products, intended  for at least limited retail sale. What to call this extensive cluster of off-catalogue Balances, besides… well.. uncatalogued or off-catalogue ?  Currently, nothing more is necessary.   Some object, however,  noting  that discovery of even a single pertinent catalogue would invalidate these descriptors.  With 35 years of hobby research having  failed to procure such paper, the risk is modest, and too there are worse things than having to change a descriptor once per generation in the face of new information. Indeed, I’d be quite thrilled  to terminate  these pens’  off-catalogue status whilst celebrating  the discovery of a  targeted catalogue.  For those who favor more generalized terminology or who have ardent  philosophical objection to an academic context that embraces  “catalogued vs uncatalogued”, one instead can label all these as  special  cap-band  pens,  subject to debate of the  import of “special”.  Advocates exist for descriptors including  fancy, funky, and even minority.   There have been rumblings to broaden the jeweler’s descriptor  from specific use for the  vertically lined wide  cap-bands to include instead  all the special-pattern (double, triple, fish-scale, maybe Canadian lined-edge) cap-bands , based on suspicion such pens were offered specifically to a segment of the retail jewelry market, though  this is not yet proven and though there would be significant collector convention to overcome in using that label for anything beyond the milled-band pens.  Again, I do consider the pens we’ve examined to fall  into two broad groups, the first composed of  the non-smooth patterns: double, triple, fish-scale,  and lined  pens that likely were niche market-- for special season, store category or specific store chain--  with the second group comprising  cap-bands still smooth just extra-wide or narrow or found on off-catalogue colors, pens that might have been special order or special purpose. The off-catalogue pens  range from relatively uncommon to overwhelmingly rare, and  I offer the following with the caveat that of course I do not know  all pens in all private collections.   Save for the vastly more prevalent  jeweler’s cap-band,  the  patterned (double, triple, fish-scale, edge-lined Canadian) cap-bands  are frankly rare,  since  pens with each of these cap-bands in any of  Balance’s specific color/size mixes  are just one or a few  known  or even so far unknown altogether.  Amongst thousands of Balances seen or handled, I doubt I’ve encountered  even thirty  pens total  with the triple band or with the fish-scale band, counting all  pen sizes and colors.    I have seen just three of the edge-lined Canadian cap-band pens. Smooth extra-wide single  cap-bands are just a few total known to the hobby  and appear so far only on black pens.  Even the jeweler’s cap-band sees some quite scarce variants.     Special color Autograph (solid gold trim) pens are quite scarce,  with few known  in each of just  a few of Balance’s size-color variants. As with most esoteric findings for old pens, the added economic value from  the  funky cap-bands   is disproportionately small  compared  to their  relative or absolute scarcity.    I  consider  the special cap-band Balances to be under appreciated…  exotic sleepers in the Sheafferverse.  Currently, such pens are hunted in fairly rarified collecting circles, generally by advanced collectors who cherish the obscure. The jeweler’s cap-band, as with a similarly named lined off-catalogue cap-band found with competitor Parker’s Vacumatic series,  in general  adds  at least a modest  value bump. Other cap-band findings should add more value…  but sometimes don’t.  If willing to pay 150% to, oh, 250% the price of  otherwise typical pens, collectors  can buy pens seen just one per hundred or one per thousand typical siblings… or even “none previously  identified”.   How cool is that?! That this is the first formal survey of this Sheaffer exotica demonstrates that our 35 year old hobby still offers space for fresh research.  I invite comments  from  readers of this article,  especially as Sheaffer is not my primary pen collecting focus (figure “wee dabbler”).   It is my hope and expectation  that  this  first core text will be the springboard for future research by others and will prod collectors to examine their holdings and to come forth with new information. Oh… and yeah…  if you happen to have spare special cap-band pens which my personal collection lacks… do drop me a note.  Send comments to isaacson@frontiernet.net -------------- Footnote: 1Personal communication from Pat Mohan. The author extends thanks to Pat Mohan and to Roger Wooten for sharing pertinent information and pens.  Photo-illustrated pens are  from the author’s collection except where noted. Photos are by the author except where noted.