Intersesting Vom Hofe Ocean City Reel serial #1

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Greatsouthbayman
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Intersesting Vom Hofe Ocean City Reel serial #1

Post by Greatsouthbayman »

I purchased this reel about six months ago off of Ebay. The gold plaque on it caught my eye. The seems to be a presentation reel given to the master of ceremonies and inscribed " An E to James L Hurley a Grand Master of Ceremonies, January 19th 1943 Ocean City MFG Co." The reel show the signs of the Ocean City transition and changes with the handle nut being incorporated into the handle and having the locking screw on it. It is serial # 1. The reel is marked inside several places and on the handle #1. I know Ocean City bought the Vom Hofe company sometime in 1941. Could this be the first reel they produced alone and not from old stock they acquired? Any Ocean City and Vom Hofe collectors help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Tony










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Ray Hencken
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Re: Intersesting Vom Hofe Ocean City Reel serial #1

Post by Ray Hencken »

With the exception of the plaque and the handle, the reel looks to be all EVH.
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Jeff Johnson
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Re: Intersesting Vom Hofe Ocean City Reel serial #1

Post by Jeff Johnson »

Awesome find! Very neat reel - thanks for sharing it.
Jay White
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Re: Intersesting Vom Hofe Ocean City Reel serial #1

Post by Jay White »

Neat reel Tony! Hope you are doing well! Jay
Greatsouthbayman
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Re: Intersesting Vom Hofe Ocean City Reel serial #1

Post by Greatsouthbayman »

Hey Jay,
Doing good, see you in Daytona?
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john elder
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Re: Intersesting Vom Hofe Ocean City Reel serial #1

Post by john elder »

Wow, To y, that reel really cleaned up nicely! Great add to your collection!
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Specializing in saltwater reels...and fly reels...and oh, yeah, kentucky style reels.....and those tiny little RP reels.....oh, heck...i collect fishing reels!...and fly rods....and lures
Greatsouthbayman
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Re: Intersesting Vom Hofe Ocean City Reel serial #1

Post by Greatsouthbayman »

Thank YOU!!!
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reeltackle
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Re: Intersesting Vom Hofe Ocean City Reel serial #1

Post by reeltackle »

Cool reel Tony,

What I find interesting is that the knob looks more Zwarg than vom Hofe. The grooves at the base of the knob and the way the base of the knob looks in general are the giveaway. The look is more characteristic of Zwarg reels so the question is .... is it a Zwarg replacement knob or did Ocean City redesigned the knob to look like that and then Zwarg just picked it up from OC when he started making the Maximo?

Anyway, very nice reel Tony, you did a great job of fixing it up. Look forward to seeing you in Daytona.
Ed Pritchard
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Greatsouthbayman
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Re: Intersesting Vom Hofe Ocean City Reel serial #1

Post by Greatsouthbayman »

Hey Ed,
The knob is original, and yes it does have a look of a Zwarg knob. My curiosity is what was the ceremony for that the reel was presented for? Clearly it was given by Ocean City to James Hurley who was the Grand Master of the Ceremonies on that day. But the date is January 19 1943, was it for them buying the Vom Hofe Company or something else. The reel is serial #1 which to me might mean their first Vom Hofe production reel built. I was hoping an Ocean City expert might know a timeline of when they bought the company and when production started?
See you in Daytona Ed
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m3040c
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Re: Intersesting Vom Hofe Ocean City Reel serial #1

Post by m3040c »

Very interesting reel. Ocean City merged with Edward vom Hofe company around 1940. The vom Hofe reels started appearing in the 1941 Ocean City catalog. By 1943 the government had stopped reel makers from making any new reels, so this reel was probably built up from old stock, hence the odd handle knob and handle nut design. The serial number is probably related to the presentation model. From 1943 to 1947 there were no Ocean City catalogs and by the end of the war, Ocean City no longer offered Edward vom Hofe reels.

I would say that your reel is very rare or maybe even a "One Off".
mike cass,,, if you can't collect it, it must be food
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