Tag Archives: #fakemontblancserialnumbers

Don’t Get Fooled By Fake Montblancs: JFK

By on July 3, 2023
Leave a reply

This is an authentic Mont Blanc JFK ballpoint pen with its original boxes and papers.

In an effort to pay tribute to the United States of America’s youthful, idealist president who was assassinated, the Montblanc JFK is a special edition pen. It is a handsome pen that came in several color combinations and was most sought by American historians and fans of the late president.

As with all popular Mont Blanc pens, the fakers jumped on the design as quickly as they could, and many of their replica pens make for very convincing copies. So far, we have only carried 2 authentic ballpoint versions of the Montblanc JFK. However, we recently picked up 4 fairly convincing fakes.

These fakes include 3 fountain pens and 1 rollerball pen. The burgundy models are especially realistic when compared with the ballpoint version above that is authentic.

Four fake Montblanc JFK pens are illustrated in this photo. The burgundy models look especially convincing at first glance.

As always, it is the closer inspection that reveals what is real. Luckily for authentic Montblanc collectors, these JFK fakes are easy to spot at a glance. We have never had one of the authentic fountain pens, but those pens have a rhodium plated 14k gold nib with the 1969 moon lander etched into them. None of these fakes have that design. Only one has a convincing standard MB etching, another has a really bad etching that at least mentions Montblanc. The third doesn’t even make an effort. Seriously, it looks as if it woke up hungover on Sunday morning, completely disheveled with a cigarette hanging out of its mouth. Don’t even get in its way until it has some coffee.

 

You know it is a fake when all of the pens have the same serial number.

Another easy tell on these pens is that they have the same serial number: MBCF 5RS85.

Another dead give away is the filling system. Real Montblancs employ their piston filler system. These fakes get a little credit for having a tail piece that unscrews, but inside is a removable standard international converter. The real tail units screw in and out but don’t come off. They just manipulate the internal piston.

Construction of the pens also plays a part. The fakes tend to be squeaky when the caps or tail ends are screwed and unscrewed. There also is a strange looseness to those parts. Montblanc threading is far more precise.

Posted below are additional images of the nibs and filling system found on the fake Montblanc JFK pens. Please feel free to add your own comments and observations. Thank you for reading.

This is the fake Montblanc nib that makes a little effort.

These are the best and the worst of the fake MB nibs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This photo illustrates the fake Montblanc’s filling system. Real JFK pens don’t use cartridge/converter systems.

Don’t Get Fooled by Fake Montblancs: The Fauxeme

By on May 10, 2023
Leave a reply

Is she? Or isn’t she? Can you pick out the real Montblanc Boheme in this photo?

One of my favorite additions to the Montblanc line-up in the past 20 years was the Montblanc Boheme. What made it my favorite was the retractable nib, which made it look similar to the classic safety fillers of yesteryear. Unlike the messy and unreliable vintage pens that still remain, this modern pen took a standard international cartridge. Another nice touch in the authentic Boheme was the realistic jewel placed in the clip. Genuine, factory-made jewels, they looked like convincing sapphires, rubies, emeralds and the like.

Or maybe one of these is the genuine Montblanc Boheme. Unless you are a really dedicated MB collector, it likely isn’t easy to tell truth from fiction.

We recently acquired a huge collection of pens. Making my life easier, this collector separated his collection of fake Montblancs from his collection of the genuine article. If you’ve read my past stories about fake Montblancs, you know I’m really saying something when I say these “new” fakes were extremely impressive.

Today we will look at the fake Boheme, which I like to call the “Fauxeme.” I’ve posted 4 pens in the photos here. Can you tell which one is the real Montblanc Boheme? Don’t read ahead. Seriously. Take a guess. I’ll reveal the real McCoy in a little bit.

Making it harder to tell the truth about which pens are real is the fact Mont Blanc made a ton of different options on this line of pen. The most easily recognizable Bohemes have retractable nibs. But, MB made some with permanent nibs. I once rejected one such Boheme as an option to buy for the site because I had yet to hear about the fixed-nib models. Montblanc also varied the jewel colors and various metals and pen designs.

Which is the genuine Montblanc Boheme nib?

Fakers had a field day offering up their own designs which look insanely convincing. Look at these nibs in this photo. At first glance can you really tell which is real? The sections, collars and logos are identical. The imprinted words are different but can vary sometimes by the markets they are sold in. The one on the right is the authentic MB nib. The biggest difference between them, to me, is that when you write with the two nibs, one is clearly a scratchier steel nib. But if you are buying online, you can’t test for that.

 

 

These two Montblanc Fauxemes share the same serial number, which is a well-known fake Montblanc serial number.

We established before that Montblanc sometimes recycles its serial numbers on the pocket-clip rings. However, if you look at the database we are developing of fake Montblanc serial numbers, you can cull two pens from this herd as fakes. It would be highly improbable to get two authentic pens with the same serial number. And the numbers on these caps are known fakes.

For as impressive as the fake Bohemes are, a lower quality of manufacturing gives away the pens, when you can examine them in person. The nib seems to be the biggest tell in many cases. First, if it is a scratchy steel writer that reminds you of a vintage Esterbrook, you know you are on the right tract to unmasking the facsimile. Yet, if you get to take an extremely close look at the two-tone version of the nib, you might see where the gold coloring is incomplete or worn off.

Can you see where the gold color has faded out on this steel nib?

When it comes to the operation of the pen, the genuine Boheme has a bump sensation as you lock the nib into place to write. The Fauxeme hasn’t this feature. Also, when fully retracted, the real MB has no exposed nib tip.

Another good indicator might be the setting of the “jewels” in the pocket clip. Montblanc will do this in a very clean and precise way. In the clip photo below, you can see the poorly set “onyx” that is glued in place and sports a big gap. Yet, the “emerald” version is snuggly fit without any mess.

 

 

The pen on the left has a bit of the nib’s tip still visible when fully retracted. The authentic Montblanc pen on the right has the nib retracted out of sight, where it won’t get injured by a closed cap.

If the photos and explanation haven’t given it away already, the only real Montblanc Boheme in these photos is the lovely green-jeweled model.

With any luck, this article has helped you have a little more confidence in identifying authentic Montblanc Boheme pens. As a reminder, I am not an authorized Montblanc pen authenticator. I am sharing what I know with the public to help as best I can. If you would like your pen authenticated, please reach out directly to Montblanc, as it has an authentication service, though last I heard they charge a fairly stiff fee for their time and work. To learn more about Montblanc (and pen collecting, in general), please feel free to read through our previous stories listed under “How Do I Start Collecting Pens?“.

Notice the shoddy setting of the “onyx” jewel of the Fauxeme pen on the left. See how the “emerald” on the authentic Montblanc is a much better fit?

How Do I Start Collecting Pens: Fake Montblanc Serial Numbers

By on May 20, 2021
43 Replies

This is one of the most convincing fake Montblanc fountain pens we have ever seen.

After 14 years in the pen business, I have just encountered one the very best fake Montblanc pens I’ve ever seen. It came with a collection of vintage pens for appraisal. I had been told it was a Montblanc rollerball, and it looks very much like a Montblanc Classique. The appraisal customer told me it was a LeGrand.

A quick inspection showed it had a serial number in the clip band, Pix written under the clip, perfect cap band nomenclature. It came with a convincing box and set of papers!

My first clue something was wrong came when I tried taking off the cap. A true Classique has a slip cap. This cap was threaded…and LeGrands are supposed to be threaded…though this pen was too skinny to be a LeGrand. Open the pen, and it took an authentic Montblanc rollerball refill. But, inside the barrel was a metal threaded space when there are no metal threads in an authentic MB Classique. There was so much right and wrong with the pen.

That’s when my brilliant fiancée recommended searching the number on the clip band.

EN1340798 is one of the most frequently used serial numbers on fake Mont Blanc pens.

Lo and behold, this pen turned out to have one of the most faked numbers for faux Montblanc pens: EN1340798. Research quickly showed it on fountain pens, rollerballs and ballpoints.

In a security fail for the actual Montblanc company, they don’t track their serial numbers. As such, many, if not most, MB serial numbers are not assigned to a pen owner or provenance of any kind. Montblanc has even acknowledged that sometimes it reuses serial numbers! Ironically, this makes the very security measures the company uses to authenticate its pens that much less secure.

In an effort to help separate the real pens from the fakes, please write in the comments section any other serial numbers you know to be fake. Thanks!