A $1.76 felt-tip pen with a White House order and a Gemini flight in its history, and twelve colours to choose from today.

Pentel launched the fibre-tipped Sign Pen in 1963. Its own UK page says a sample reached President Lyndon Johnson after a trade fair and that, per press reports at the time, he “ordered the pen by the boxload”. Wikipedia’s account is more modest: a dozen, to sign photographs. NASA then adopted it, and the pen flew on a Gemini mission in 1966. Wikipedia adds that it has sold more than two billion units. Pentel’s US product page does not repeat these stories; it just says “trusted for 50 years”.

What you get is a fibre tip, water-based ink, and a snap-fit cap that keeps the tip from drying out. It is not refillable, which suits the price. Pentel US lists twelve colours, from black, red, blue and green to brown, orange, yellow, grey, pink, sky blue, violet and ochre, and says the black, red, blue and green pens are made with 80% recycled plastic. The listed price is $1.76 for a single pen (regular $2.07), and Pentel adds a limited lifetime warranty.

The family has grown. Pentel US sells a Sign Pen Twin Brush with a fine tip on one end and a broad brush on the other, in six-pack form at $14.64. The plain pen stays plain.

Pentel’s page lists no tip width, so check the listing before buying a dozen.