In the mid-1980's, under the tutelage of Dr. Robert Tefft, a dozen or so pen collectors living in Southern California, whose paths would cross at the Rose Bowl Swap Meets or other flea markets, organized themselves as the Southern California Pen Collectors Club. They met at a member's home every two months for "show and tell", to swap a few pens and just talk pens. An informal newsletter would be circulated among the members whenever there was enough news to print, and a Reference Library of old pen ads, catalogs, repair manuals and articles was gradually organized.

Though the Club never promoted itself, membership started to come in from around the country. With the increased mailing costs for the newsletter, the Club was required to charge nominal dues as membership approached 100. Leadership of the group passed from Bob Tefft to Paul Hoban, to Tony Davis, then to Boris Rice in 1991. Ed Fingerman served as President of the P.C.A. from 1998 -2000.

In 1991, the group's name was changed to Pen Collectors of America, Inc. to reflect the increasingly national membership and formally organized as a not-for-profit entity. The official publication of the PCA, the PENnant, has evolved from a 4-page photocopy into a thrice annual journal. The Reference Library contains over 10,000 pages on vintage pens and club membership now exceeds 1,800.

In the words of the club's first member, Dr. Bob Tefft, the PCA's "soul continues to be the relationships that it fosters between individual collectors, and its strength continues to be the integrity, generosity, and good will of its members. The PCA remains, in the final analysis, a group of folks getting together to share their camaraderie, their enthusiasm, and their love of pens."