Most sought after reel?

ShotgunRiderRob · Post by **ShotgunRiderRob** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 9:56 am

As a new collector,i've been curious to what is the most sought after "level wind reel" ?

It's value on market,how many were made,and where it was built?
Trouble finding a list of most sought after or most valualbe.

Any websites or info be appreciated.

Willis Logan · Post by **Willis Logan** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 9:18 pm

Rob. Your question is really interesting. I know there could be a thousand answers to it. The fact that you threw level wind into the equation really makes it sticky. The reel that came up in my mind when I read your question was a Garcia 5000 D. L. Serial # !. Number made, maybe 10? How Valuable?---------I have to say one hell of a question!

Post by **Brian F.** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 3:01 am

Hmm, that is an interesting question. If you are talking about the most sought after, that could very well mean something completely different from most valuable. A rare Mitchell reel might be more "sought after" purely because of the number of collectors out there that are interested. Then on the other side, an extremely rare reel like a Snyder could very well be the most valuable because there are a handful of people that will pay in the 10s of thousands for an example. It's not exactly the most sought after or popular collectable reel but it's what floats someone's boat. Subjectivity, if there is such a word, is what makes reel collecting fun!

Dr. Rob · Post by **Dr. Rob** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 4:13 am

Um, willie?

About those 5000Ds... I had one. Didn't know what it was, rebuilt it to non-D and made oak sideplates for it. It was later stolen anyway. Sorry. But, I see them relatively often for sale. Not so expensive either. I venture to guess that there are a LOT more than ten of them. UNLESS you mean specifically Garcia as opposed to ABU, in which case I have no idea.

Shotgun, Idunno... It really depends on the collector, not the reel. Popularity may be one thing, but the individual collector's fetish is a far stronger force. We all have our own scale of value, and our own holy grail. Meaningless to one, is the meaning of life to another.

EDIT, later...

hmm, I oughta learn to read before posting... think I misunderstood both posts. DL, levelwind...

Well, how about one of those pivoting-foot Rainbows? How do they rate?

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 7:35 am

First model Pflueger Supreme, Serial #115, as pictured on the back of Bob's Pflueger Supreme book. Since Bob figured out they started number at 100, there are only 14 of these reels numbered lower.

Since they sold 3 million Supremes, and since collectors of the Supreme are legion, my bet is this is the scarcest level wind around.

--Dr. Todd

Reel Geezer · Post by **Reel Geezer** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 7:55 am

what is the most sought after "level wind reel" ?

The key words are "sought after" and "level wind". I believe that totally changes most of the answers supplied above. I would vote for the various configurations of the ABU Ambassadeur.

joe klaus · Post by **joe klaus** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 9:12 pm

Dr Bob---I think Willis is talking about the 5000DL---not the 5000D.

Are we all on the same page?

Reelman · Post by **Reelman** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 10:32 pm

I can not speak for everybody. But I found the most sought after "level wind reel" Seams to be the one I am bidding on. On ebay. Everybody seams to want it when I place a bid.

Ron Mc · Post by **Ron Mc** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 8:27 am

I want a Shakespeare Model B.

ShotgunRiderRob · Post by **ShotgunRiderRob** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 9:06 pm

Now this gives me a start! Some names to look for and some knowledge of what others seek for,thanks guys!

I've been seeing so many level wind reels as of late here and there, i cant stop buying what i see

Got my first Ocean City today with original box, and now working on finding an old Mitchell.

Wasnt sure if this was a good question,but now it makes me wonder if someone ever wrote a book on this. Most valuable or most sought after reels with stats on each reels?

drexelantiques · Post by **drexelantiques** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 10:57 pm

Day in, and day out, I have more folks ask for ABU reels than any other brand of levelwind reels. And when folks come in my shop, more pick up the ABU reels than any others. Some to use, some to collect. But they draw more interest. I may have 25 pfluegers, 25 shakespears, a few Vom Hofes, and others, but the first reel most pick up is an ABU 5000, or other ABU reels even though I typically only have 3-4 of those. They also are usually the first reels to sell even though they are usually more expensive than the run of the mill pfluegers and shakespears.

Next in line would probably be early Zebcos for me, but they aren't levelwinds.

Ron Mc · Post by **Ron Mc** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 9:34 am

yes, but remember Lorraine's antique shop find.
The guy had Pflueger Supreme's lined up on his display because that's what people asked for.
Over in the corner junk pile, she found an uncatalogued Zwarg 12/0 and paid $50 for it.

ShotgunRiderRob · Post by **ShotgunRiderRob** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 9:51 pm

Is this uncatalogued Zwarg 12/0 a rare find and worth quite alot more then they paid for? Love to see a pic of this one!

Dr. Rob · Post by **Dr. Rob** » Tue May 01, 2007 3:23 am

Was just thinking... Maybe it isn't the reel people dream of; it's the DEAL. The most sought-after moment of discovery, of knowing something nobody else does.

Most of us probably know our dream reels. I know mine; I can go on ebay anytime and buy one for a whole bunch of moola. Big deal. But, to find it in an old cardboard box at a flea market, with a ten-dollar price tag... That's different.

oldtimer · Post by **oldtimer** » Tue May 01, 2007 7:58 pm

Maybe its the 1950,s unmarked ambassadeur 5000 that was found in a milk crate in my moms attic .the pics are on show and tell .

reeltackle · Post by **reeltackle** » Thu May 17, 2007 7:44 am

The Errol Bullen "Atalanta" reel would be my choice for my most sought after levelwind. They came in sizes up to a 16/0 and were made in Australia. The best reel to ever come ut of Australia and one of the finest reels ever made anywhere. Picture on my site
www.antiquefishingreels.com

el Lawrence · Post by **el Lawrence** » Wed May 23, 2007 2:18 pm

IMHO it is the reel you do not have. When I started out on this collecting mission it was a Pfluger Nobby '65 red with the star drag. At the time I offered a bounty on top of purchase price... it is an uncommon reel only made about one year or so. I had an empty box and thought "How hard can it be to find the reel? I see reels everywhere..." (well this was a number of years ago...) Now I have about (conservative est. ) 75 or 85 of these, the price of a nice minty one has gone from the 60. range to anywhere from 150. to 220. or more depending on packaging and condition... Today I don't pay too much or seek out Nobby '65 in RED. Though one of the fabled other colors... rank up with the Holy Grail. Powder Blue Nobby '65... you betcha!

That is not to say that is the ONLY one I would buy. As Ron pointed out the uncataloged O. Zwarg was a great "in the wild" find. Paid in the "under 100." range for that reel to discover it to be worth in the "thousands" range.

The lesson is not to get tunnel vision looking for the one particular rare and expensive and miss out on the rare and expensive right under your nose... or in a chicken barn as the O. Zwarg was... If you don't plan to keep something for your collection think of it as a find for a fellow collector. Saving it from the land fill... or being made into a lamp base...

And for Shotgun Rob... I will try and post pictures before too long. They were up here at one time but I will re-photograph and post soon. It was just that the "antiques" seller (obviously not as knowledgable as he thought he was when he started into his "Well little lady, let me tell you..." routine) had his Ocean City and Pfluegers, etc. in boxes all lined up neat and shinny, complete with high prices (the box you know is worth more...) and the unmarked, odd named, some missing parts heap was the home of the near mint condition/mint mechanical 12/0 uncataloged O. Zwarg. (Not even a ding in the side plates... you should hear it click too)... "Just junk" he said... I agreed that the Zwarg would make an excellent book end as he suggested... paid less than the marked price (that was less than $100.) Tried not to look too excited before I got it in the bag and got the heck out of Dodge... As Brian and I have talked about it DID take nerve to leave with the Zwarg and leave behind the other good finds... the near coffee table sized Pflluger packing crate, etc. I could only carry so much and only had so much cash on me. Rest assured I checked over the reels carefully and saved the best one.

Post by **Brian F.** » Wed May 23, 2007 2:29 pm

I always have fun hearing that story, El

ShotgunRiderRob · Post by **ShotgunRiderRob** » Sat May 26, 2007 10:56 pm

el do you have the pic of the O. Zwarg yet,looked all over for it few times and no luck.

Robin Sayler · Post by **Robin Sayler** » Thu May 31, 2007 10:05 pm

I picked up my most sought after levelwind reel today.

I got a pflueger akron from 1931 with the Satin Damaskeened Nickel finish. This is the one with the swirls on the side.

That was my most sought after levelwind reel. Its talked about on page 82 of the pflueger pfact book.

If anyone wants pictures I can probably get some tommorow.

ABUBO · Post by **ABUBO** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 9:05 pm

Hi gize,

If I ever come accross any of my most sought after level winds, I wouldn't have the moola to bring it home with me... and I don't expect it to turn up on any fleamarket or garage sale... it's too good looking for that!
So, finding an "Ambassadeur-red" colored 4/0 - 6/0 or 7½/0 and maybe that 9/0 (if it exists at all?!) ABU ADMIRAL made by EVEROL of Italy in the '50ies, I'd have to sell my car .. twice!

(yeah - bad car *LOL*) and probably would be forced to let a friend of mine buy it instead, as I don't pay that much for a reel - hell, not even for a car! *ha-ha*. Have to admit I'm not that much of a collector.. I still have a little common sense left *ha-ha*

On the other hand, had I the $$ well, then it's a totally different matter

ABUBO · Post by **ABUBO** » Mon Apr 05, 2021 2:49 pm

... and I'd still have to sell my car to get one ... actualy DID sell the car - to the insurance cpny = Daaaaaarn!!! Would rather have kept it, but it was totalled by a bu.... moron.

Anyways - I'm back in black (mourning my dead Volvo).. and you know - now that I have the cash, I am actualy still looking for that ABU ADMIRAL in any size or shape. ANYONE?

Well - hope you are all in good health ... despite the one who died of course (Dear, missed Ben - R.I.P.).
/Bo

reeltackle · Post by **reeltackle** » Mon Apr 05, 2021 3:18 pm

I guess it would all come down to who is doing the "soughting" after. I would say the most sought after level-wind reel would be the 16/0 Errol Bullen Atalanta reel made in Australia in the 1930s ..... but that is just one collectors opinion. So far only two have been found ... and here they are.

ABUBO · Post by **ABUBO** » Tue Apr 06, 2021 10:47 am

Sure Ed .. it all depends on what you're looking for - i.e who is looking ..

A couple of VERY nice and rare reels them two Atalanta's! They don't come much rarer than this...!!!

Anyways ... still hope you'll find another one - eventualy. Cause it's very unlikely, if one is to believe in statictics (I do), that you've got the only two existing reels of this make .... unless of course you got'em off of the actual manufacturer.
Any prototypes of this reel - or perhaps they all are - somehow?
Thx, Bo

reeltackle · Post by **reeltackle** » Tue Apr 06, 2021 12:54 pm

Hi Bo,

You are correct, the two reels I posted the photos of are most likely not the only two Bullen level-wind reels out there, just the only two that have been accounted for to date. I hope you find the next one! These great Aussie reels were made for Bullen for a very short period of time, in limited numbers by machinist Frederick Commonwealth Smith in the 1930s so there is a good chance that there are still a few to be found Down-Under. The two reels I pictured were not purchased from the manufacturer, one of the reels I found in the US while the other was found in Australia by an Aussie collector.

Bo, you ask if the two reels might be prototypes or if perhaps all the reels were prototypes. The two that I have owned have had small differences. One of the interesting things about handmade reels is that they often show improvements from reel to reel and no two are the same. That may not make them prototypes but it does show the evolution from reel to reel. Good question Bo!

Below are pictures of Zane Grey in Errol Bullen's back yard in Sydney posing with a combination of Bullen's tackle and some of his own personal tackle. The photo of Grey with the single rod and reel shows him holding one of the large level-wind reels. The reel Grey is holding appears to be a different reel than the reels I have posted pictures of, so it is quite possible that that is a third level-wind reel. The reel Grey is holding looks a lot like the Reg Fagan reel only the "Errol Bullen Atalanta" logo and Fagan's name do not appear to be visible on the front of the reel. Perhaps it was Bullen's personal reel or perhaps Fagan's reel still unmarked, your guess is as good as mine. The Coxe and Kovalovsky reels were Grey's contribution to the grouping in the photo. I sure would have liked to have been included in on that tackle discussion.

Bullen reels were also made reels without level-winds and were single action reels with the handles in the center of the face-plate. There appears to be five non-level-wind, single action reels in the second picture. There have been a small handful of that style reel found to date.

Most sought after reel?

Most sought after reel?

I can't name a single model, but can name a company.

attic find

Big Levelwind

Most sought after...

Admiral von ABU ("von" means "from")

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