H L Leonard

[Clint]

I found this in a box of reels I recently purchased. I found one like it on antique reels .com
Is anyone here familiar with it? I need help on age an value, thanks!

[RonG]

Here's some photos showing how the Leonard bi-metal reel design varied over time from left to right. The oldest ones have a patent date stamped on them and the later models had a patent number stamped on them. Yours appears to be the last model.




Value: A lot

[Clint]

Thanks for the help. I really didn’t even think it was of much value but I wanted to research it before I tear it apart to polish it up. I buy stuff but rarely sell. I just like having vintage gear of all kinds to look at.
If it’s a 20 dollar reel, I’ll just clean it up and display it. If it’s a 300 dollar reel, I’ll do more research on restoring it.

[Midway Tommy D]

You best do some research, on most of those you've posted.

[Clint]

I think you’re right! I bought that box of reels based solely on an Orvis 50a that I’ve posted on another forum.

[wrong99]

We generally don't do appraisals here, but your reel is quite valuable. Really valuable. Be careful how you might "polish it up". You don't want to reduce the value by $1000 by over-polishing it just to make it look real shiny. Use the Search feature at the top of every page and you should find quite a bit of info on your reel. And the others, too.

[Clint]

That’s the kind of advice I need.

I’m not familiar with these older reels...... yet.

After a bit of research, I’ve found some members sites that offer appraisals. I might just hit them up to see just what I’m dealing with.

Thank you!

[john elder]

Clint, you’ve found an incredible bunch of reels. Sign up for Tacklefind… you will find most everything there and you can get some auction prices to go by. Size matters! For some, better values are in smaller models like your 2 7/8 Uniqua. With the Leonard, you’d like to fet the bigger model… but its a winner, regardless!

John