We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. Also, they do not keep any database of serial numbers except for the limited edition pens. Around 1997, Montblanc introduced the 'Pix' mark as a further anti-counterfeiting feature. Often you will find this on the cap band as well as a much less obvious place: the underside of the clip.

Montblanc is the company pen lovers love to hate.

I'll get around to writing some.

Montblanc introduced serial numbers in 1991 in some sort of attempt tocounter the replica/counterfeit market. This has not beenparticularly effective. In general, all Montblancs made after 1991should have a serial number, but remember that there are still aconsiderable number of used pens that date from before that, so lackof a serial number may mean only that it is an older pen. The font ofthe serial number has changed at least once; the early ons (such as my1991 MB146) is block-lettered, while current ones use a font thatresembles the computer-readable numbers in a personal check. I am notsure when the switch occurred.

To make matters more complicated, Montblanc does reuse serial numbers(they are issued randomly with no discernable pattern),so two pens with the same serial number could still be genuine. It islikely that they would be different models and separated by many yearsin time, though. I am told they do not keep any database of serialnumbers except for the limited edition pens.

Around 1997, Montblanc introduced the 'Pix' mark as afurther anti-counterfeiting feature. Often you will find this on thecap band as well as a much less obvious place: the underside of theclip. However, the presence or absence of this mark does not mean thepen is fake/real; many modern counterfeits dutifully include the Pixmark as well, including on the underside of the clip (for thehigher-quality fakes). I think the clip underside one is the morecommon one; putting Pix on the cap band is a more recent thing (sometime in the 2000s; I've heard 2006 quoted).

Montblanc Meisterstuck 149

Around 1991 they switched from 14k nibs to 18k nibs exclusively.

The cap band on very early (first-year?) 149s is different. Ratherthan 3 gold bands, the center band is gold while the two smaller sidebands are sterling silver. Pens with these bands come from very earlyproduction and are extremely valuable to collectors. Other earliercap bands would say Masterpiece (US and UK) or Chef d'Oeuvre (French)instead of Meisterstuck; these were made for the export market andthus had Meisterstuck translated into the appropriate languages.

Another feature of early 149s is that the trim ring at the filler knobend is an actual ring and protrudes very slightly. On current 149s,this band is completely flush against the side. This change occurredby 1972. The piston filleritself comes in at least three variants: a white metal housing(1952-late 1950s), an all-plastic mechanism (late 1950s-1990), and abrass housing (1990-current).

The barrel has undergone one significant design change that is notvery visible externally. Prior to 1985, the entire barrel was asingle piece of plastic. After 1985, the barrel was made in twopieces: the barrel up to and including the ink window, and then thesection with the nib that joins up where the ink window ends.

Barry Gabay has the following list of known 149 nib variants withapproximate dates. The 2-tone has a platinum-plated center and goldedge, while the 3-tone is gold-platinum-gold. The cut-out tailpresent in some pens is a notch in the nib that mates against the feedand prevents it from moving or rotating. This feature cannot be seenwithout disassembling the nib and feed.

14C, 3 tone, tapered shoulders (1952-1959)
14C, 3 tone, broad shoulders (1960-1972)
18C, 3 tone, broad shoulders (1952-1959 European market)
14C, 2 tone, narrow shoulders (1972-1985)
14C, 2 tone, flexible nib (1960s-1970s)
14K, 2 tone, broad shoulders (1985-1988)
14K, 2 tone, broad shoulders, cut-out tail (1988-1990)
14K, 2 tone, narrow shoulders (1985-1988)
14K, 2 tone, narrow shoulders, cut-out tail (1988-1990)
18K, 2 tone, broad shoulders (1991-1994)
18k, 3 tone, broad shoulders, used on Hemingway and later 149s (1995-1999)
18K, 3 tone, narrow shoulders, cut-out tail (1999-current)

The early 149s (1950s vintage) are slightly smaller than the currentsize and have the model number heat-stamped on the filler cone. Thecelluloid pens have a celluloid star that yellows with age; any 149with a slightly yellowed star is a pretty old one.

Montblanc Meisterstuck 146

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The ink window switched from solid transparent blue to thin clearstripes in the late 1970s.

The two-tone nib (still current) was introduced in 1993-1994. Olderpens will have a single-tone nib. There are at least two variants ofthe two-tone nib: broad shoulders and narrow shoulders. It is verydifficult to tell them apart except side-by-side.

Most will be marked GERMANY on the clip, except for a period in the1980s to about 1991 when they were marked W-GERMANY.

The cap band on older ones will usually be marked 'MontblancMeisterstuck No.146' but newer ones omit the model number; my2009 says 'Montblanc Meisterstuck Pix.' I think this changeoccurred in the early 2000s.

I observe from my own collection that late-1980s and early-1990s pensare not quite the same as the current (2010) 146. The thread pitch onthe cap threads changed sometime in the last decade or two and oldercaps will not screw on to newer pens and vice-versa.

Mont Blanc 221 1971-1979, 14k gold nib,plastic, cartridge/converter

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The 221 comes from a long line of student pens and would eventually(after Montblanc goes all upscale during the 1980s) morph into theClassic and then the Generations. The 1970s vintage ones havesemi-flexible nibs. Not to be confused with the similar 220, whichhas a more textured finish and a piston filler.

Mont Blanc 144 1980s, 14k gold nib,resin, cartridge/converter

This is the small pen from Mont Blanc's 1980s regular lineup. Around the1990s they started calling it the Meisterstuck Classique anddiscontinued it sometime in the late 2000s (the fancier variants arestill sold, but not the plain black). This example is markedW-Germany, which places it in the 1980s.

Mont Blanc 146 (single-tone nib, solidwindow) mid-1980s, 14k gold nib, resin, piston

The 146 (now called LeGrand) is the large-sized Meisterstuck, secondonly to the massive 149. The 1980s vintage models have a solid inkwindow and a single-tone gold nib with a fairly plain engraving.

Mont Blanc 146 (two-tone nib, solidwindow) 1991, 14k two-tone nib, resin, piston

The rather plain single-tone nib on the 146 was eventually replaced bythe 2-tone nib in use today. This change occurred sometime in thelate 1980s or early 1990s. This particular example can be dated toexactly 1991 as it is both marked W-Germany and has a serial number.I imagine the introduction of the slotted ink window must have comelater.

Mont Blanc 149 (18k 2T nib) 1991-1994,18k two-tone nib, resin, piston

The iconic 149 is the flagship of the Meisterstuck line and is theclassic big black German pen. This example has a two-tone 18k nib(which dates it to the 1991-1994 time frame); current 149s have a3-tone nib (gold, then silver, then gold in the center). The pen ismassive (it dwarfs the 146, which is already considered large); theexposed part of the nib is nearly an inch long, the wholething is over 6.5 inched posted, and is about as thick as a giantwhiteboard marker. It's too fat for some of my pen storage trays andwon't fit in some of my pen pouches. While it's a great pen, be waryusing it in public lest people think you're'overcompensating' for something.

Alienskin eye candy 3.0for mac with manual. Mont Blanc 'Hommage a Frederic Chopin'145R late 1990s, 14k nib,resin, cartridge/converter

The Montblanc 145 Chopin is their mid-sized pen. It is a bit biggerthan the 144 and uses cartridges or a converter, but is a screw capinstead of the 144's snap cap. The R designation indicates that it isin th