Dating Montblanc 146 (Legrand)

[Dan2]

On 9/16/2025 at 6:09 PM, Mercian said:

 

To me, that pen looks like it might be a 'Montblanc Meisterstück Solitaire LeGrand' in Sterling silver barleycorn finish.

King Charles III was given one of those by his sons when he was still the Prince of Wales.

 

BUT: you need to bear in mind that I don't own any Montblanc pens, and so you should look for photos of the model that I mentioned, and see how closely they match your pen.

 

I also recommend that you take a photo of the pen's 'feed' and upload it here (if you don't already know, the 'feed' is the piece of black material on the underside of the pen's nib).
As I understand it, Montblanc used different types of feed down the years, and being able to see the feed will enable the members of this board to (roughly) identify your pen's age.
Again, as I understand it, the identity of the feed can have an effect on the relative desirability of your pen (and therefore its value).

 

N.b. As I wrote before, I know very little about Montblanc pens, so you will need to wait for other, more-knowledgeable members to reply to your question. For all I know, it may even be a 'replica' or fake of the pen. For your sake, I hope that it isn't!

Owners of Montblanc pens should be able to look at the details of your photos and decide whether the pen looks genuine, or as though it might be a fake.

"1B 103536" is a serial number, which ought to be unique to the pen. So, you could also contact Montblanc, and ask them what model of pen had the serial number "1B 103536", and where that pen was sold.
If you live in e.g. Iowa, but the pen numbered "1B 103536" was bought in e.g. Singapore, that may indicate that your pen is a fake.

 

I wish you the best of luck in your quest for answers to your questions, and I hope that one of the FPN members who actually knows what they are talking about can answer them for you.

 

Slàinte,
M.

 

P.S. by the way, the fact that the pen's internal piston moves smoothly is very important.
I advise you to submerge the pen's nib fully in a glass of cool water, and cycle the piston to try to draw the water up. It is important to know that the pen will do that - because if it won't do that, then it won't draw-up ink either. If you find that old ink comes out of the pen, I advise you to repeatedly cycle cool water into and out of the pen, until no more old ink comes out.
And to then re-fill the pen with cool water, and stand it in a mug into which you have placed a folded piece of kitchen paper.
Stand the pen facing downwards, so that its nib is touching the kitchen paper. Leave it standing in the mug overnight.

Doing that will draw the water out of the pen, into the paper, through the nib.

Doing this will pass water through the nib, and so clean the nib of any old ink.
Repeat the process until no more old ink can be seen on the kitchen roll.

 

 

Thanks, Mercian. I'd rather not touch the fountain pen so I don't ruin something. I am attaching a picture of the feed.

[Dan2]

In the meantime I got the official answer from Montblanc (based on the submitted photos): I have Meisterstück Solitaire 1466 (Silver Barley), launched in 1995.

 

[JCC123]

You should listen to @Mercian's advice as a working pen will get a very different price than a non-working pen. The buyer will want to know which one of those he/she's buying.

 

Water will not harm anything. Water is your pen's friend.

[Dan2]

Here, I did as I was advised. The pen releases bubbles into the water, I can suck water into it and release it again, it seems it's working. How can I check if there is a leak somewhere?

[JCC123]

The way most people check is to fill it with ink and see if any of out comes out of where it's not supposed to.

[Dan2]

On 9/21/2025 at 2:52 PM, JCC123 said:

The way most people check is to fill it with ink and see if any of out comes out of where it's not supposed to.

 

I could do it with non-montblanc ink? I have Pelikan ink.

 

[JCC123]

yes