Ballpoints of the 284 range and the fountain pens that go with them date from the 1970s. On these pens the model number is engraved in the cap ring, and the 585 hallmark on the nib denotes a gold content of 14 carat. Sets of this kind belonged to the better everyday range rather than to the Meisterstück line: Montblanc positioned itself as a pure luxury-goods maker only from 1991 and until then produced the whole spread from the school pen upwards. The collector's value is accordingly limited; as working pens they can be used every day with a clear conscience.
Care is needed when the number on the cap ring cannot be matched to any known pen. Over the decades caps were frequently swapped, or replaced after a breakage with one from another model, so that cap and barrel no longer belong together. If the number leads nowhere, it is worth checking against the related lines of the same years, the 224 as a piston filler and the 224P as a cartridge pen for instance. For writing, a cap from another pen makes no difference; on sale it reduces the value.