Abumatic 170 age

[Dusty]

Courious how can I tell how old these reels are

[Dusty]

How can I tell how old the reel is?

[Kevin McJunkin]

Dusty,
The Abu-Matic 170 was made between 1965-1982, according to Daniel Skupien in his outstanding book, Vintage Fishing Reels of Sweden. The 170 was an upgrade of the Model 70, with dual line pickups. I have seen them with various identification medallions but do not know the sequence of production. Skupien reports that around 1971 most Abu-Matics were slightly redesigned with a smooth housing finish (I have seen both smooth and textured black housing finish on 170's) and a more rounded, non-beveled cone. Hope this helps.
Kevin

[Kevin McJunkin]

P.S. After looking over some completed auctions, it appears that the older pre-1971 Abumatic 170 models, most often with beveled covers, generally have darker bronze or gunmetal medallions, whereas the newer post 1971 reels with round, non beveled covers generally have brighter, silver medallions. This is a quick review and does not account for covers that could have been switched.

[Midway Tommy D]

How can I tell how old the reel is?

Your reel should have a six digit number on the bottom of the foot. That number will tell the month and year your reel was made. The last two digits will indicate which variation it is. Post the number and we'll decipher it.

[Kevin McJunkin]

I have five of them and none of them have any numbers on the bottom of the foot. The only marking is "Product of Sweden." I've looked at others and couldn't find a date code. According to Skupien, "in 1964 ABU began assigning production date codes (for Abu-Matics) in the format MMYYxx, where were perforated into the side or bottom of the packaging... Unfortunately, these codes were not applied to all models, and the practice seemed to have stopped all together in the late sixties." So, unless Dusty has an early original box for his 170 reel, we're not likely to be able to use a date code.

[Midway Tommy D]

Shame on me. I guess since I don't have any Abumatics I forgot they only serial coded them on the packaging. Thanks for the reminder, Kevin.