A black, printed star on print material or packaging is always a counterfeit feature. On the writing instruments themselves, however, the finding is more nuanced: between the 1930s and 1950s, on the inexpensive 3rd series (e.g. models 3-42 or 333½), the star was not inlaid but only engraved as an outline into the cap and not filled with colour. These pens were jokingly called 'Montblanc for the poor' at the time, since Montblanc reserved the fully filled star for the higher-quality models. A dark or black-looking star on a pre-war or early post-war 3rd series model is therefore not a sign of counterfeit but a period-typical execution.