Ocean City "Solite" skeleton fly reel EX IB Sold, thank you!

[JoeW]

Ocean City Solite skeleton fly reel EX IB value? interest?

I picked this up over the weekend more for the box than the reel It’s dark purple! With the OC logo marked “260 B”and “2004” as best as I can make out. Box is solid, minor shelf wear.

Reel is EX or better! Some black paint off at the sliding click and a few nicks, and there’s some kind of “green” showing on the cross bars on the spool arbor? It had line on it… did the line react with the cross bars? Despite the line being on it, I don’t think it was ever actually used— too nice!

I found info here, thanks! But I could only find one reference to it on the internet that had it for sale at $165! C’mon! Really? Can anyone give me a realistic value? Don't be afraid to break my heart. And if you’re interested, talk to me.

Thanks as always just for looking! Best—— Joe Walkowski (ORCA WNYTC)

[Richard Lodge]

Hi Joe - I included this reel in my book on skeleton fly reels back in 2007 (available from Whitefish Press). It's a nice reel and even more collectible in the box. But alas, it's a pretty common skeleton fly reel made by a maker who made boatloads of reels. If you want my two cents, I'd say you start a nice little skeleton fly reel collection with this as the starting point. Reels in boxes are always great to have. As far as value, there aren't a lot of folks out there who collect skeletons and the ones I know have this reel, probably with the box. Again, one man's opinion, but $50-75 might be a reasonable amount, if you can find a buyer. Good luck with it!
Richard

[JoeW]

Thank you, Richard, for that very comprehensive appraisal! Frankly, I'm a bit surprised it might be worth that much-- I think the box must be the thing! I see quite a few unmarked Skeletons in my travels (most are stamped "Japan"), but this is the first time I've ever seen one IB! I like all the different designs for the cutouts! As for starting a collection? heck, I get so much pleasure out of my other collections (including Akrons, coin edge, and homemades,... and lures), I'm going to pass the enjoyment of collecting Skeletons to someone else. So...

Reel is still available. Anyone interested, let me know. Thanks again, Richard!

Great site here! Best---- Joe W

[JoeW]

A collector has messaged me and he makes a solid argument that this reel doesn’t belong in this box I do see his points. I appreciate his input very much!

However, especially considering the circumstances in which I obtained the combo, I’m still hesitant to completely agree.

Given my relative unfamiliarity with this particular reel and the difficulty in obtaining much info on it, I will make a concession in my asking price and offer a choice. Potential buyers can decide!

First- I’ll reduce the price for the combo to from $60 to $50. If you would care to purchase either the reel or the box SEPARATELY, please message me an offer and I will consider.

PM or email me. More pics to look at. Nice package! Thanks as always for the help!

(Note: 2/23/23 I've added it to my ETSY shop- you can purchase there with a credit card if you want- click on the link at bottom) Best---- Joe W (WNYTC ORCA)
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Reel/Box has been Sold 3/30/23. I got a lot of help from a few members here- learned a lot about those Solite reels! Great site, great club, some very good people! Special thanks to Mike Love for all the time he put into educating me about those reels. The guy's a real A-1 collector and he knows his stuff!
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[Mike Love]

Thanks Joe ! Straight Ahead Mike