Classic and Generation are two consecutive series from the second line that Montblanc kept below the Meisterstück pens — clearly below them in quality and in price, but perfectly good everyday writing instruments for all that. The Classic is the predecessor of the Generation. The surest way to tell the two series apart is the cap top: on the Classic it finishes flat, on the Generation it is bevelled towards the clip. They are frequently confused with the older model 320 of the 1970s, which has a differently shaped grip section and a ring at the end of the barrel that Classic and Generation lack.
On both series the body is made of a comparatively soft plastic and not of precious resin. It therefore picks up marks of use more quickly, and as it ages the plasticiser evaporates. The result is fine hairline cracks in the grip section, typically in the two side indentations above the nib. They let ink escape and leave inky fingers as you write. A grip section cracked in this way can hardly be sealed for good, which is why it is precisely this area that repays close inspection before buying.