Lafayette spinning reel

[sharkman]

Has anyone every heard of Lafayette spinning reel. Looks like old Mitchell. The reel has no numbers. Only Lafayette on side and Japan on bottom. The reel is black with stainless handle. Thanks for help

[Shark Hunter]

I've never heard of it sharkman. I even googled it and found nothing.

[philaroman]

there's a ton of different old Japanese clones of French spinners.  most are crap, but some early ones are very nice, rare & highly valued (esp., by Japanese collectors) like Ueno Seiko Olympic Model No. 81,82,83,84,85:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-1960s-NIB-Japan-OLYMPIC-MODEL-83-Mitchell-Copy-/170677623402?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27bd2dda6a&nma=true&si=MfFNNJeIt%252BgenFXhamqrWeff%252FQg%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

I'm pretty sure that seller's description is way off: Olympic 83 is from late 50's -- not, 60's & it's a cloned Centaure Pacific from the '40's -- not, a Mitchell-copy.  Still, his photos are great & the bidding collectors obviously knew what was up, even if the seller did not.  I bought one just like it (mint-ish, no box, no accessories, hairline crack on the knob) for $35 & sold it back home to Japan for $200+  ...in short, the right Japanese copy can be worth WAY MORE than the older French original!!!

Unfortunately, "Lafayette" w/ no #'s sounds more like later fly-by-night crap from 60's-70's.  On the other hand, if the handle is actually stainless steel, that's pretty unusual...  could be a rare, short-lived clone from early 50's -- who knows?  ...wait 'till feeBay has a good promotion (list-for-free, free/cheap photos, etc.) & put it up for auction w/ a chunky starting bid & DETAILED description w/ several good photos.  MAKE SURE YOU ACCEPT INTERNATIONAL BIDS, ESPECIALLY FROM JAPAN!!! -- you may be pleasantly surprised.

IMO, there's no reason to fish a Mitchell copy, when you can find a nice affordable Mitchell

[sharkman]

Thanks for the replies. Here are pics of the reel