Montblanc Porsche Pens
Disclaimer on Pricing and Valuation
The Carrera Line
In the mid 1970's the school pen 042 "Monte Rosa" (introduced in 1952) was discontinued and replaced by the Montblanc Carrera Line in various finishes (mainly orange, black and silver) with metal caps and a large stainless steel clip punctuated by six holes.
The Turbo
Around the mid-1970s, Montblanc began an association with Porsche for a range of entry-level pens which resulted in the Carrera line of pens. Of these, the Turbo range (launched in 1978) was the high-end. A tubular design, characteristic of the period, the Turbos were done in brushed metal or silver-plate, with an odd clip which had a large black resin ball at the end and the Montblanc star in both extremeties of the pen. The range was available in ballpoint, rollerball and fountain pen variants. The fountain pen nibs were in steel (gold nibs were also made available as an option) and could use either cartridges or an ink converter. The Turbo range lasted until around 1984. Note that the ballpoint pen was one of the last Montblanc models that used the older refill type (longer than the current version, but these can be adapted with an extender and used on the older ballpoint pens).
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| The Turbo Ballpoint Pen |
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| The Rollerball |
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| The Fountain Pen |
The prices given here are the low and high average found on the international market between the years 2014 and 2017. The difference between the lowest and the highest values can be due to such factors as the state of preservation, the provenience, the reputation of the seller, and the completeness of the offer (original case, documentation, ink accessories, etc.). Every collector should be fully aware of the difference between selling prices and purchase prices, and between passion and investment.
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Against the normal "market pricing", the following table provides some guidelines for the valuation and negotiation of collectible (not current) fountain pens as per their condition.
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WEIGHT |
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No signs of use, New Old Stock, boxed and fully documented, not inked ever
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No discernable user markings, boxed, dipped or once ink filled
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All parts original, slight signs of use, slight surface scratches, minor discolouration, crisp imprints, trim or body with no significant brassing, no dings, may be boxed, fully working
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All parts original, some signs of use, surface scratching, brassing, light discolouration, fully functional
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Not all parts may be original, heavy sign of use, worn imprints, used look, may need repairs, dings/stratches, medium discolouration
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Not working, missing parts, cracks, strong discolouration, very visible dings
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Another devaluation scale may be considered for particular typologies of damage
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