P200 Since 1970 Box Sets

The day I made my last post, I was looking at my regular list of auction site searches and came across a listing for a P200 Box Set. Intrigued, I looked at the post, then very quickly ordered it. Then I went back into the post to look a little more at the item, and the pictures. This was the P200GRBXSET Graphite Series Limited Edition Collectors Set.

For this packaged items, I like to have 2 sets in my collection. One to open, take the pencils and put them in my collection cases, and the other to keep with everything intact. So, I contacted the seller, asking if he had any more in stock. He replied that he did have another, and that he would put it up for me to purchase, so I picked up my second set.

At this point, he also mentioned that he had another set. I asked about that, and this one was the P200CLBXSET Classic Series Limited Edition Collectors Set. He listed them for me, and I bought those for myself.

Jump a week later, and I have these in my hands.

Graphite Series Limited Edition Collectors Set
P200GRBXSET

This box set contains 4 pencils, P203 to P209, in shades of graphite from Soft Silver to Dark Graphite. These pencils are not labeled, and the box does not include model numbers.

The package is marked, “Distributed by: Pentel of America, Ltd, 4000 E Airport Dr., Suite C, Ontario, CA 91761”, and has a barcode of 072512283882.

P203 Soft Silver
P205 Light Pewter
P207 Medium Gunmetal
P209 Dark Graphite

As you can see these pencils are marked the same as the pencils in my earlier post about the “since 1970” pencils.

While waiting for this set to arrive, I was wondering if the P205 in this box set was the same P205-1Z in the earlier Taiwanese release. It turns out this is not the case, as you can see in the picture above, the P205-1Z is the pencil in the middle and the P203 & P205 bracket it. It appears that the P203 from this set is the same color, or very similar to, the P205-1Z.

When I first saw the picture of the back of this set, I was confused about one of the lines in the description. In the second paragraph, it states “In honor of over 50 years of reliability, this limited edition series features the original colors launched in 1970 with a commemorative imprint celebrating that history.” This line makes absolutely no sense, unless everything I know about the history of the Pentel P200 gets thrown out the window.

That is until I found out about the other box set the seller offered.

Classic Series Limited Edition Collectors Set
P200CLBXSET

Like the box set above, this set contains 4 pencils, P203 to P209 in the original colors launched in 1970. Now, I have not found any evidence of the P203’s existence earlier than Generation 4 (that just may mean I haven’t found it… yet), but I will let this slide, since the other 3 were launched in 1970. Again, these pencils are not labeled, nor are model numbers indicated anywhere on the box.

Again, distributed by Pentel of America, the barcode is 072512283875, which is 1 code earlier than the Graphite Box Set.

P203 Classic Brown
P205 Classic Black
P207 Classic Blue
P209 Classic Yellow

Again, these are marked with the “since 1970” text.

Here is the back of the Classic set box, with the same text as on the Graphite Box Set, which makes much more sense here. It appears this box was designed first, and the layout copied for the Graphite Box Set, with suitable changes, and that line was just missed in those changes.