No. 45 Safety
This pen is from the personal collection of Joudenali. Watch out for reviews of truly rare pens from his treasure chest!
In 1924 Montblanc introduced the "Meisterstück" series which was intended to be the company's top-of-the-line offering. At that time, the pens were numbered based on their price. So, the No. 45 meant that it cost 45 Reichsmark (RM) which was the currency in Germany at the time. The smaller numbers meant that the pens cost less but also that they were smaller in size. The smallest pens in the line up was the No. 20 (link). And, the largest was the No. 45, measuring approx. 13.cm to 13.8 cm long capped. This is a large pen by any standard!
This No. 45 BHR Safety was made in around 1926-29, and is quite rare. Collectible Stars I (CS-I) rates it a 9 out of 12. The cap imprint of "Meisterstück" has an interesting "S" in the mountains. There is no consensus over what this signifies, and examples of pens with "H" and "M" imprinted in that position can be found too.
This large pen has a size 8 nib and is made of 18 Ct gold which is correct for its model and time period. The 45 came with cap rings like on this example, and also without presumably on older versions.
One very special characteristic of this pen is its sold silver snake clip which we do sometimes find on MBs from that time, but the original clips like this one are not easy to come by. Also, these clips came in skinny and not-so-skinny variants! See examples in this article -->link. As per CS-I the snake clip has never been offered in official catalogues, and so there is no evidence that it was a standard clip from Montblanc. However, it was made and sold on Astoria pens - a subsidiary of Montblanc - and so it is speculated that the clip might have been offered by retailers even on MBs if requested.
L to R: No. 25 Safety, No. 35 Safety, and No. 45 Safety
For bibliography, see Resources page -->link