A lucky man decided to take a casual trip to a thrift shop only to make a surprising find – walking away with an item that could be worth far more than he paid at the till
Thrift shopping is always a bit of a gamble, as you don’t know what you’ll find – or what it will be worth. These stores are full of all kinds of second-hand items that have been donated, including clothes, shoes, toys, games, books, furniture, home ornaments and appliances.
Some shoppers have an eye for finding a bargain while others visit charity shops to look for specific items based on their interests. One man who has a liking for pens was thrifting with his family when he got lucky by finding a fountain pen, something he hadn’t owned before. However, it was far from an ordinary writing tool as it was from the luxury brand Montblanc.
He turned to Reddit to share his discovery where he wrote: “Took a gamble at a thrift…may have paid off big!”
He revealed that he had seen a couple of boxes peeking out at him and recognised the brand straight away so he had to take a closer look.
The thrift shopper said: “It looked pretty good and figured I have lost $60 (£44.39) at the casino in worse ways.. paid the cash and ran out the door.
“Spent the rest of the evening pouring over the pens, and am cautiously optimistic that they are in fact…real!”
Montblanc pens from the official website can cost up to ÂŁ480 defending on the specific product and range.
The German luxury company’s designer fountain pens are thought to be among the best in the world for their high quality and detailed craftsmanship.
The Reddit user bought two pens from a thrift store for $29.99 (£22.18) each and after examining them, he believes they are both Montblanc Meisterstuck 145 Classique Platinum with F nibs and are completely new, observing that the ink wells “have no residue at all.”
The pens fan added: “The S/N’s are close to each other but still unique, and match the stamped booklets each came with.”
Giving a breakdown of the signs that could indicate the pens are true Montblancs, he noted that the lettering and engraving on the nib is “sharp” and the nib edges are smooth with the gold colour sharply defined, instead of being painted on, for example.
Also, the serial number is “nicely engraved in the right spot” and has a “correct looking font.” The thrifter further shined a light through the fountain pens to uncover a “deep red colour” that is thought to be synonymous with Mont Blanc pens.
The Reddit post has garnered 6,400 upvotes and more than 150 comments. One user asked: “Did you shine a light through the inside?
“Real Mont Blanc’s in that finish are not actually black but a deep burgundy resin that allows light to pass through.”
Pen Boutique elaborated on this point on its website where it states: “While many Montblanc pens appear black to the naked eye, their resin shaft is actually a dark red wine color.
“You can see this color if you hold the shaft of the pen up to bright light. The light shining around the pen’s edges will cause a dark red hue to appear around the pen.”
Another Reddit user commented: “Hell yeah, quite a find as Mont Blanc pens are nice and a joy to write/draw with. And you got two of them… for like.. pennies, lmao. Great score!”
