--- title: "The Pens US Presidents Use: Esterbrook to Sharpie" canonical: "https://stationerytimes.com/stories/us-presidents-pens/" description: "What pen does the president use? Kennedy's Esterbrook desk pens, the Cross Townsend and Century II from Clinton to Biden, and Trump's custom gold Sharpie." category: "Stories" published: 2026-10-24 updated: 2026-10-24 author: "Ellis Penhale" publisher: "Stationery Times" sources: 28 organizations: - name: "A.T. Cross Company" country: "United States" founded: "1846" parent: "Transom Capital Group" parent_since: "2017-11-16" brands: ["Cross"] source: "https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2017/11/16/1194032/0/en/Transom-Capital-Acquires-A-T-Cross-Company.html" - name: "Newell Brands" country: "United States" brands: ["Paper Mate", "Parker", "Waterman", "Sharpie", "Elmer's", "X-ACTO", "Prismacolor", "rOtring"] source: "https://www.newellbrands.com/our-brands" --- # The Pens US Presidents Use: Esterbrook to Sharpie > In his second term, since January 2025, President Trump signs with Sharpie markers, customized in black with his signature and "The White House" in gold. Before him, Joe Biden and Barack Obama signed with A.T. Cross pens, the Townsend and then the Century II, which Cross sells as the Official Presidential Pen. Kennedy and Johnson used Esterbrook desk pens. - URL: https://stationerytimes.com/stories/us-presidents-pens/ - Category: Stories - Author: Ellis Penhale - Published: 2026-10-24 - Updated: 2026-10-24 ![Five presidential signing pens to scale, from Kennedy's Esterbrook desk pen to Trump's custom Sharpie](https://stationerytimes.com/images/raster/us-presidents-pens-16x9.png) *Five pens that presidents are documented as using, drawn to scale from listed lengths.* Original drawing (SVG): . Drawings © 2026 Stationery Times, reusable with credit under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). ## Key takeaways - Lyndon Johnson used an estimated 75 pens to sign the Civil Rights Act on July 2, 1964, the National Park Service says; Barack Obama used 22 for the Affordable Care Act on March 23, 2010. - Kennedy and Johnson signed with Esterbrook desk pens imprinted "THE PRESIDENT - THE WHITE HOUSE"; the Smithsonian holds the one Kennedy used on July 26, 1963, with an Esterbrook 2668 nib. - A.T. Cross says Reagan was the first president to use its pens officially, with the Classic Century, and that its White House program became formal under Bill Clinton. - Trump's first-term team ordered 150 gold-plated Cross Century II pens before January 20, 2017; by November 2018 he said he had switched to Sharpies, and in March 2026 he showed off a custom one. - Signing pens are given away and later sold: a framed set of 50 Kennedy and Johnson pens led Heritage's Americana auction on November 1–2, 2024. Every president needs a pen, and since the 1930s most have needed dozens at a time. This story follows the pens through the presidential libraries, the National Archives, the Smithsonian, A.T. Cross's own account and dated news reports, and says plainly where a president's pen isn't documented. ## What pen does the president use? **President Donald Trump signs with custom black Sharpie markers that carry his signature and "The White House" in gold.** He tossed Sharpies to the crowd after signing executive orders at Capital One Arena on January 20, 2025, according to an Associated Press photo caption, and showed a black-and-gold one at a Cabinet meeting on March 26, 2026. He is the exception. For most of the last 50 years, presidents signed with pens from A.T. Cross of Providence, Rhode Island: the [Cross Classic Century](https://stationerytimes.com/guides/cross-classic-century/), the [Cross Townsend](https://stationerytimes.com/guides/cross-townsend/) and the Century II. Before Cross, Kennedy and Johnson used Esterbrook desk pens made in Camden, New Jersey. ## Presidential pens: a timeline from FDR to 2026 ![Timeline of presidential signing pens from 1933 to 2026: Esterbrook for Kennedy and Johnson, Cross from Ford to Biden, Sharpie for Trump, with gaps where the pen isn't documented](https://stationerytimes.com/images/us-presidents-pens-timeline.svg) *Each president's documented signing pen; grey hatching marks terms where no source we found names the pen.* | Years | President | Documented pen | Source | |---|---|---|---| | 1933–1945 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Several pens for the Social Security Act, August 14, 1935; make not documented | NYT report cited by Pac/West | | 1945–1953 | Harry S. Truman | Several pens, each wiped and given away, British Loan Bill, July 15, 1946; make not documented | Truman Library | | 1953–1961 | Dwight D. Eisenhower | Not documented as president; his Parker 51 was used at the German surrender in 1945 | National WWII Museum | | 1961–1963 | John F. Kennedy | Esterbrook desk pens, 2668 steel nib | Smithsonian; JFK Library | | 1963–1969 | Lyndon B. Johnson | Esterbrook pens; a felt pen from 1965 | LBJ Library; CNN | | 1969–1977 | Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford | Nixon not documented; Ford "known to use" Cross, model not named | A.T. Cross; AP | | 1977–1981 | Jimmy Carter | Not documented | – | | 1981–1993 | Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush | Cross Classic Century, black with 23KT gold-plated trim | A.T. Cross | | 1993–2009 | Bill Clinton, George W. Bush | Cross Townsend | A.T. Cross | | 2009–2017 | Barack Obama | Cross Townsend black lacquer rollerball, later Century II | National Archives; AP | | 2017–2021 | Donald Trump | Cross Century II with gold plating, then Sharpie | AP; HBO and Axios | | 2021–2025 | Joe Biden | Cross Century II rollerball, black lacquer and gold | A.T. Cross | | 2025– | Donald Trump | Custom black Sharpie with gold lettering | AP; Snopes | The Cross rows rest mostly on Cross's own history page, so treat the models for Ford through George W. Bush as the maker's account. ## Why do presidents use multiple pens to sign bills? **So that each pen can be given to someone who helped pass the law.** The Reagan Library says ceremonial signing pens usually go to the creators of legislation and the members of Congress who got it through, each with a letter from the president. The president changes pens every letter or two. For the Affordable Care Act on March 23, 2010, Obama used 22 pens, and the Christian Science Monitor reported that each one added a letter, or half a letter, over a minute and 35 seconds. In the White House's own video, staff note that the pens were laid out for a left-handed signer. ![Why a bill takes 20 pens: one signature split into 22 strokes, one per pen, above the record counts of 75, 44, 22 and 7 pens](https://stationerytimes.com/images/us-presidents-pens-twenty-pens.svg) *How one signature becomes 22 souvenirs, and four well-known pen counts.* The counts climb for landmark laws. The National Park Service puts Johnson's Civil Rights Act at an estimated 75 pens and Clinton's 1997 Taxpayer Relief Act at 44; in the 2010 video a staffer recalls 40 for the same act. Not everyone joined in: the Christian Science Monitor wrote in 2010 that George W. Bush used only one pen to sign legislation. ## When did the multiple-pen tradition start? **Probably under Franklin Roosevelt or Harry Truman, but nobody has pinned down the first signing.** The National Park Service says the custom "seems to date" to one of them, and in 2010 a White House staffer said the clerk believed the same. The earliest documented case is Roosevelt's Social Security Act. A 2025 article by the Pac/West firm cites the New York Times of August 15, 1935, which reported that he used more than one pen and handed one to Labor Secretary Frances Perkins. Woodrow Wilson, by contrast, signed the law creating the National Park Service on August 25, 1916 with a single dip pen, which the White House mailed on with a covering letter the same day. By 1946 the ritual was set. A Truman Library photograph from July 15, 1946 shows the president wiping each pen used on the British Loan Bill "with a scrap of white rag" before presenting it to a Cabinet member or British dignitary. ## Which pens did Kennedy and Johnson use? **Esterbrook desk pens with a steel nib and a clear plastic barrel imprinted "THE PRESIDENT - THE WHITE HOUSE".** The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum holds the one Kennedy used on July 26, 1963 to sign its appropriation bill: a desk-type Esterbrook, nib marked "Esterbrook 2668, Made in USA", transferred from the White House. The Kennedy Library catalogs a set of 29 Esterbrook bill-signing pens with 2668 nibs, and the LBJ Library's catalog says both presidents signed legislation with Esterbrooks. A National Park Service record describes the Civil Rights Act pen Johnson gave to civil rights leader Dorothy Height on July 2, 1964 as an Esterbrook. Johnson gave the first Civil Rights Act pen to Senate Republican leader Everett Dirksen and the second to Hubert Humphrey, CNN reported, citing a historian; Martin Luther King Jr. received one too. An LBJ Library archivist told CNN that Johnson moved to a felt pen in 1965. For today's Esterbrook brand, see our [Esterbrook Estie](https://stationerytimes.com/guides/esterbrook-estie/) guide. ## What about the Parker 51 and the 1945 surrender? **It belongs to Eisenhower the general, not Eisenhower the president.** The National WWII Museum says his 1945 [Parker 51](https://stationerytimes.com/guides/parker-51/) was used to sign the German surrender at Reims on May 7, 1945, though Eisenhower himself didn't sign and wasn't in the room. Eisenhower gave the surrender pens to President Truman, and the Truman Library Institute says they are on view in the library's First Four Months Gallery. We found no source naming the pens Eisenhower signed bills with as president. Parker's place in the story is told in our [Parker history](https://stationerytimes.com/stories/parker-pen-history-newell/), and the vintage 51 in our [vintage fountain pens](https://stationerytimes.com/guides/vintage-fountain-pens/) roundup. ## Which presidents used Cross pens? **By A.T. Cross's account, Ford, Reagan, both Bushes, Clinton, Obama and Biden, plus Trump before he switched.** Cross says Ford, Reagan and George H. W. Bush were known to use its pens, that Reagan was the first to use one officially, a Classic Century in black with 23KT gold-plated trim, and that its program became formal under Bill Clinton. Cross says Clinton signed the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 with a Townsend, and that George W. Bush and Obama used the Townsend too. For Obama's first signings on January 20, 2009, the Providence Journal reported that Cross delivered black lacquer Townsend rollerballs with the presidential coat of arms and his signature engraved on the barrel, on a week's notice. The National Archives' Obama Library record says he later switched to the Century II. The AP reported in February 2017 that Trump's Century IIs differed from Obama's only in the engraved signature and gold plating instead of chrome. Cross says Biden signed on January 20, 2021 with a Century II rollerball in black lacquer with 23KT gold. ## Why does Trump sign with a Sharpie? **He says the official pens wrote badly and cost too much.** "It was a horrible pen, and it was extremely expensive," he said of the government pen in the HBO and Axios series in November 2018, adding that a Sharpie "writes much better and this cost almost nothing." It began with Cross. The AP reported in February 2017 that his transition team ordered 150 gold-plated Century II pens before the inauguration, and that the White House was awaiting 350 more. The AP gave Cross's suggested retail price as US$115 a pen, sold through a distributor likely to discount it. At the March 26, 2026 Cabinet meeting, Trump said the old pens cost US$1,000 each and that he had asked Sharpie for a black marker with the White House in gold, insisting on paying US$5 a marker. A Sharpie representative told The Washington Post, "We don't have any information about the conversation described," and Snopes couldn't confirm who customizes the pens. The standard [Sharpie Fine Point](https://stationerytimes.com/guides/sharpie-fine-point/) is the familiar version. ## Can you buy a presidential pen? **You can buy the same Cross models, but not the White House pens themselves, except at auction.** Cross's store calls the Century II and the Townsend the Official Presidential Pen; the presidential versions add an engraved signature and, for Obama, the coat of arms. Used signing pens come up at auction houses, with value depending on the law and the paperwork. Heritage sold a framed set of 50 Kennedy and Johnson pens, including Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act pens, for US$68,750 with buyer's premium on November 1–2, 2024; our [most expensive fountain pens](https://stationerytimes.com/guides/most-expensive-fountain-pens/) story puts that beside jewelled pens. In July 2023 Nate D. Sanders offered a single 6.25 in (159 mm) Civil Rights Act Esterbrook in its original 7 in box. ## How can you tell a real presidential signing pen? **By its paperwork more than its looks.** Real signing pens usually leave the White House with a presidential letter, as the Reagan Library describes, or a slip like the one in the 2023 lot that reads "used by the President, July 2, 1964, in signing H.R. 7152". - **Provenance:** a chain back to the person who received it, such as a member of Congress or official. The Height pen was found with newspaper clippings of the ceremony. - **Markings:** Kennedy- and Johnson-era Esterbrooks read "THE PRESIDENT - THE WHITE HOUSE" on a clear barrel, with "ESTERBROOK / MADE IN U.S.A." on the grip and nib. - **Engraving isn't proof:** Cross sold a similar Townsend to the public in 2009, and Deseret News found Trump-signature Sharpies on eBay in January 2025 "without evidence that the pens were actually used by Trump." - **The seller:** a major auction house publishes provenance; a marketplace listing usually doesn't. Signing with care matters for ordinary people too; our story on [stationery through a life](https://stationerytimes.com/stories/stationery-through-a-life/) covers the pens people choose for their own big signatures, and [who owns which stationery brands](https://stationerytimes.com/stories/who-owns-which-stationery-brands/) explains that Sharpie and Parker now share an owner, Newell Brands. ## Frequently asked questions ### What pen does Trump sign with? A black Sharpie marker customized with his signature and "The White House" in gold, which he used for executive orders from his second inauguration on January 20, 2025. Sharpie told The Washington Post in March 2026 it had no information about the conversation Trump described, and Snopes couldn't determine who customized the pens. ### What pen did Obama use? A.T. Cross pens. He signed his first documents on January 20, 2009 with black lacquer Cross Townsend rollerballs engraved with his signature, used a Townsend for the Affordable Care Act in 2010, and later switched to the slimmer Cross Century II, according to the National Archives and the Associated Press. ### What pen does Biden use? Joe Biden signed his Inauguration Day proclamations and orders on January 20, 2021 with a Cross Century II rollerball in black lacquer with 23-karat gold-plated trim, according to A.T. Cross. CNN described the box of pens on his desk as gold-trimmed navy Century IIs. ### Is the Cross Townsend the president's pen? It was for three presidents. A.T. Cross says Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama used the Townsend, and sells it as the Official Presidential Pen, but Obama later moved to the Century II, and Trump and Biden used the Century II. ### What pen did JFK sign bills with? Esterbrook desk pens with a 2668 steel nib. The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum holds the one Kennedy used on July 26, 1963, and the Kennedy Library catalogs a set of 29 Esterbrook bill-signing pens. ### Who gets the pens after a bill signing? The people who wrote, sponsored or fought for the bill. The Reagan Library says ceremonial pens usually go to the creators of the legislation and the members of Congress who got it passed, with a letter from the president. ### Are presidential pens made in the USA? Only partly, for Cross. The Associated Press reported in February 2017 that the White House Cross pens were lacquered and engraved in China and assembled in Rhode Island from domestic and foreign parts. The Kennedy-era Esterbrooks are marked Made in USA. ### Did Eisenhower sign the German surrender with a Parker 51? No. His Parker 51 was used at Reims on May 7, 1945, but the National WWII Museum notes that Eisenhower didn't sign the document and wasn't in the room. He later gave the surrender pens to President Truman. ## Sources - [Barack Obama Presidential Library: All the President's Pens, March 2010 White House video transcript (PDF)](https://www.obamalibrary.gov/sites/default/files/uploads/documents/2010%20-%20All%20the%20Presidents%20Pens%20(TRANSCRIPT).pdf) - [National Park Service: 50 Nifty Finds #1, A Singular Pen (Wilson's 1916 pen; Johnson's estimated 75; Clinton's 44)](https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/50-nifty-finds-1-a-singular-pen.htm) - [Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum: Pen, National Air and Space Museum Appropriation Bill, July 1963 (Esterbrook 2668)](https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/pen-national-air-and-space-museum-appropriation-bill-july-1963/nasm_A19730366000) - [John F. Kennedy Presidential Library (National Archives): 29 Bill Signing Pens, Esterbrook Pen Company (catalog record)](https://jfk.artifacts.archives.gov/objects/18200/29-bill-signing-pens) - [John F. Kennedy Presidential Library (National Archives): Civil Rights Act Signing Pen (catalog record)](https://jfk.artifacts.archives.gov/objects/5082/civil-rights-act-signing-pen) - [LBJ Presidential Library (National Archives): Esterbrook (catalog maker record)](https://lbj.artifacts.archives.gov/people/12676/esterbrook) - [National Park Service via Google Arts and Culture: Pen used to sign the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (The Esterbrook Pen Company)](https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/pen/KQHjpxE0CgOetA) - [Barack Obama Presidential Library (National Archives): A.T. Cross Company LLC (catalog maker record)](https://obama.artifacts.archives.gov/people/20915/at-cross-company-llc) - [Harry S. Truman Library: The President wipes a pen after signing the British Loan Bill, July 15, 1946 (photo 97-2246)](https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/photograph-records/97-2246) - [Truman Library Institute: WWII 80, Germany Surrenders, May 7, 2025 (surrender pens on view at the Truman Library)](https://trumanlibraryinstitute.org/?p=7111) - [Ronald Reagan Presidential Library: White House Office of Legislative Affairs records, 1981-1988 (ceremonial signing pens)](https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/research/finding-aids/legislative-affairs-white-house-office-records-1981-1988) - [White House Historical Association: Franklin D. Roosevelt Signs the Social Security Act, August 14, 1935](https://whitehousehistory.org/photos/franklin-d-roosevelt-signs-the-social-security-act) - [A.T. Cross: The Write Choice for U.S. Presidents (Classic Century, Townsend and Century II)](https://cross.com/blogs/news/the-write-choice-for-u-s-presidents) - [A.T. Cross: Century II Classic Black Rollerball Pen, 414-1 (Official Presidential Pen)](https://www.cross.com/products/414-1) - [Travel Markets Insider: President Joseph Biden signs Inaugural Day proclamations with customized Cross pen, January 26, 2021](https://travelmarketsinsider.net/president-joseph-biden-signs-inaugural-day-proclamations-with-customized-cross-pen/) - [Associated Press via CFJC Today: Trump, fond of executive orders, awaits more fancy pens, February 2017](https://cfjctoday.com/?p=631601) - [Fortune (Associated Press): Trump executive orders and Cross pens, February 17, 2017](https://www.fortune.com/2017/02/17/trump-executive-orders-cross-pens) - [Associated Press via Anchorage Daily News: Trump interrupts Cabinet meeting to talk about Sharpies, March 26, 2026](https://www.adn.com/nation-world/2026/03/26/trump-interrupts-cabinet-meeting-dealing-with-iran-war-and-rising-prices-to-talk-about-sharpies/) - [Snopes: Sharpie denies talking to Trump about making custom pens, April 1, 2026](https://www.snopes.com/news/2026/04/01/trump-sharpie-pens/) - [Deseret News: Donald Trump and the art of the Sharpie, January 29, 2025](https://www.deseret.com/politics/2025/01/29/donald-trump-art-of-the-sharpie) - [CNN via KRDO: Why do presidents use so many pens to sign documents, January 2021](https://krdo.com/?p=417508) - [Christian Science Monitor: Obama signs healthcare bill with 22 pens. Who started that idea? March 24, 2010](https://csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2010/0324/Obama-signs-healthcare-bill-with-22-pens.-Who-started-that-idea) - [Philstar (quoting the Providence Journal): Obama's Cross, February 9, 2009](https://www.philstar.com/lifestyle/arts-and-culture/2009/02/09/438197/obamas-cross) - [The National WWII Museum: Mightier Than the Sword, The Parker Pens That Ended World War II, May 7, 2020](https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/parker-pens-ended-world-war-ii) - [Pac/West Public Affairs: Mystery of the Missing Pens, August 13, 2025 (New York Times of August 15, 1935 on Roosevelt's pens)](https://pwlobby.com/?p=8782) - [Fine Books and Collections: Pens used by JFK and LBJ to sign legislation to auction, October 10, 2024](https://finebooksmagazine.com/news/pens-used-john-f-kennedy-and-lyndon-b-johnson-sign-legislation-auction) - [Antiques and the Arts Weekly: Pen collection inks more than $68,000 for Heritage, November 4, 2024](https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/pen-collection-inks-more-than-68000-for-heritage) - [Nate D. Sanders Auctions: Bill-signing pen used by President Lyndon Johnson to sign the 1964 Civil Rights Act, lot 193, July 2023](https://natedsanders.com/Bill_Signing_Pen_Used_by_President_Lyndon_Johnson_-LOT65351.aspx)