No fixed figure can be put on a Noblesse Oblige rollerball, but experience shows it to be well below what heirs or recipients of a gift expect of the Montblanc name. The Noblesse does not belong to the Meisterstück line; it is one of the plainer everyday writing instruments built in large numbers. An unused example complete with case, original box and a guarantee certificate from 2006 makes little difference to that.

The background lies in the company's history: Montblanc repositioned itself as a maker of luxury goods only in 1991. Before that the range ran from the inexpensive school fountain pen up to the Meisterstück, much as Pelikan's did. The brand name alone therefore says little about what a pen is worth; what matters is the model, its age, its rarity, its specification and its condition.

A sound estimate is gained by following, over a period of some weeks, the prices comparable pens actually fetch, not the prices they are offered at. Paid valuations by third parties frequently cost more, with everyday models of this kind, than the pen itself is worth. If no sale is planned, the best thing to do with the rollerball is simply to use it from day to day.