Montblanc 149 - Did they mfr. 14k and 18k nibs both??..

[Harv]

Yes, I've looked all over Pen collecting and sales Web site, Google Usenet
archives of this newsfroup, and Montblanc's own site and I still can't find
a definitive answer to this question..

The pen is the Montblanc Meisterstuck 149 - the big bruiser, standard issue,
not a special edition, black body, one fat and two skinny gold rings around
the base of the cap, inset white snowflake on the tip of the cap,
twist-action piston filler, blah blah etc. etc., everyone knows the one I'm
talking about.

I bought one in the early 1970s at a very prestigious store in Beverly
Hills, brand new, for a whopping $45.00.. that's what they sold for then,
versus about $500.00 retail now. Some years later, I sold it for a couple
hundred when I was strapped for cash. A few years ago I unstrapped and
bought one back on eBay.

My original one came in a kind of cream colored or off-white clamshell case
with white satin lining and had 18k or was it 18c engraved on the huge nib
along with all the other stuff they engrave there - 4810, and so on. The
standard two-tone nib.. Gold and Rhodium is it or Platinum??.. The one I
bought a few years ago has 14k or 14c (I can't get to where it is right now)
on the nib. It came in a black clamshell case with a pocket in the lid's
satin lining holding the warranty card. I have never had any doubt in my
mind that the one I bought a couple years ago is anything but a genuine
Montblanc 149.

I know there are counterfeits out there and I've seen a couple and they are
crude, at best. Just like there are Victorinox Swiss Army Knives, and then
there are cheap knockoffs, and they are pretty easy to tell apart.

The pen I own now looks, feels, and acts exactly like the one I bought in
the early 1970s.

What I want to know is what years did Montblanc ship these pens with a 14k
nib instead of an 18k nib?
Was it an option, in that they were availble either way, or did they switch
from 18k to 14k for some period of years and then switch back from 14k to
18k again. And if so, why..

I'm just curious as to the approximate age of the one I own now with a 14k
nib that came in a black clamshell case with the white Montblanc logo and
Snowflake on the lid.

I can't find a definitive answer anywhere. I asked Montblanc through a
contact link on their Web site and am awaiting an answer which will come who
knows when, but in the meantime, if someone here knows for sure.. no
guessing allowed ;) .. please post. And if you hate the pen, and hate the
company, please, just keep it to yourself. I know it's hard, but try ;) ..

Thanks.

[Harv]

Following up on myself and for additional information to back up my
question, this eBay auction for a Montblanc 149 pictures a pen exactly like
mine. Look at the close-up picture of the nib.. "14c" with "585" below it.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2201487152

From looking through a couple dozen eBay auctions for 149 pens, the folks
advertising the ones with the 14c nib, well some of them, say that it was
made about 20 years ago, putting it in the 1980s some time..

What I'm still looking to find out is why Montblanc switched from an 18c to
a 14c nib and then back again..

Thanks.

[f***@aol.com]

Post by Harv
What I want to know is what years did Montblanc ship these pens with a 14k
nib instead of an 18k nib?
Was it an option, in that they were availble either way, or did they switch
from 18k to 14k for some period of years and then switch back from 14k to
18k again. And if so, why..
I'm just curious as to the approximate age of the one I own now with a 14k
nib that came in a black clamshell case with the white Montblanc logo and
Snowflake on the lid.

Don't worry so much. :) The 149 as many pens have came with either a 14k
or 18k nib. Why? Dozens of possible answers and none really matter
very much. From legal requirments of 18k in some countires, to 18k
sounding more expensive, to 14k being a better alloy for a nib than 18k
as most any pen collector who knows his stuff will tell you. Bottom
line it doesn't matter much since some people want the more expensive
sounding 18k and others rather have the usually technically superior 14k
nib.

The box you describe was used from about 5 to 10 or so years ago if that
helps. At many times the 149, as I said, along with many other pens
were made with either nib. And even if they switched from time to time
with 14 or 18 it can take many years for pens in the sales pipeline to
reflect the change. Pens are not coins. There is no such thing as say,
a 1998 Mt Blanc 149. A 149 purchased new in 1998 may have been made in
1998 or 97, 96 or even 89 and so on. If the factory ran out of 18s they
would put in 14s to ship em out the door and visa versa. Dealers would
then, as now gladly switch one for the other if they had the other nib
on hand and a customer requested it. MB nibs easily unscrew for an easy
change, although there have been some changes in the way the sections
are threaded in recent years, but thats nothing that would stop an
informed dealer from completeing such a switch.

There are endless variations in MB nibs in terms of plating and
stampings and alloys that can aid in dating when the NIB was made. I
don't know the details as they are as I said endless with all sorts of
ifs ands and buts. None can really be used to reliably date the PEN
anymore than a tire can really date a car. Too easy to change from what
left the factory in both the pen or the car.

So in your case the box is perhaps a good guess, although the box can
even easier have been switched and MB would ship pens in old boxes if
they had em and ran out of new boxes and delaers seldom care exactly
what pen goes in what box and so on... Frank

[Harv]

<***@aol.com> wrote in message news:***@aol.com...

[snip buncha good information]..

Thanks, Frank.

That's exactly the kind of detailed response I was looking for.

Harv
(Not worrying so much as being inquisitive ;) ..