What's with all the pens? (signing ceremonies)

[Alex Franke]

I just saw a news clip of the president signing a bill into law. It looked like he used about 20 different pens, and wrote for half a second with each one. I'm guessing they're ceremonial pens -- so key players can have "the pen that signed the bill" -- but does anyone know the details?

What's the protocol? What's actually written with each pen? How many pens? Who gets them? What kinds of pens do they use? And perhaps most importantly, who turns them?

Obviously, please do not be tempted to make any political replies. I'm really only interested in the pen protocol. I couldn't help but be puzzled when I watched what looked like someone signing one letter of his name per pen!

[DUD]

They have been doing this for several years, I don't know why. Bill

[herb fellows]

Maybe the pres keeps them and we'll see them on ebay in a few years, to help him along in his retirement :-)

[Uncle Cracker]

It's SOP. The exact destination for each pen is flexible, but most often they are distributed to the authors of the bill, or the beneficiaries of the action, or they become charity gifts or library and museum pieces.

[gsmittle]

I can remember this going as far back as Johnson, probably farther.

Seems like a single Bic would do the job...

g.

[chopnhack]

A more important question would be, how much did the government and by extension the taxpayer, overpay for those pens!

[LCHIEN]

the pens used to sign bills are highly coveted souvenirs or favors given out by the president. In this case it was important legislature for the new President, his primary objective in the short term so far. That made these pens doubly coveted. So he used 20 pens to sign this document, each one can be claimed to be the pen used to sign this bill.

Now he can give them to 20 people to curry their favor or to thank them for their support. each will be presented I presume with a photo of the president signing with this pen (or one exactly like it) and a note certifying it was used to sign this bill. In some cases they are presented to a person who inspired the particular bill. In some cases I've seen the President stick the pen in his own pocket, the bill being so important to him that he wanted to keep the pen.

[shoottx]

Here is the place to ask that question!

http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/opl/

[jhart]

I think they all had red ink in them.

[TB Roye]

According to a thread on the IAP (penturners) website. The pens cost over $500 each. I thing the President has to practice his signiture to be able to do partial letters with each pen and end up with a legal signiture. I think LBJ started it as I can remember seeing him signing some the Civil Rights bills.

Tom

[Uncle Cracker]

I think LBJ started it as I can remember seeing him signing some the Civil Rights bills.

Think it goes back even farther than that. The first official engraved Presidential signing pens came out during Harry Truman's administration (late 40's), but unofficial engraved pens have been seen since Teddy Roosevelt's term at the turn of the century. Most of the endorsed examples of the modern era have been done by Parker, but I think that ended while Wild Willie was in office, and Parker moved its operation overseas. I don't know who has the concession now.

[Russianwolf]

Think it goes back even farther than that. The first official engraved Presidential signing pens came out during Harry Truman's administration (late 40's), but unofficial engraved pens have been seen since Teddy Roosevelt's term at the turn of the century. Most of the endorsed examples of the modern era have been done by Parker, but I think that ended while Wild Willie was in office, and Parker moved its operation overseas. I don't know who has the concession now.

A T Cross made the current pens. But they are manufactured in China and only engraved in the States. I believe Cross was the last large US pen manufacturer and they relocated the lines a couple years ago.

[Alex Franke]

A T Cross made the current pens. But they are manufactured in China and only engraved in the States.

Well, that's a little disappointing...

[Uncle Cracker]

A T Cross made the current pens. But they are manufactured in China and only engraved in the States.

...like 98% of everything else sold in this country.