The mystery of the 2062 "NL" series solved.
I had wondered what the differences were between the 2062, 2062NL and 2062NL-2 reels were, since they seemed to be unrelated to the year of production. As it turns out the clue to their non-difference was in an old Shakespeare magazine advertisement. I had thought there was a difference in the model construction, but the only difference was in the way they were sold. The "NL" signified the reel was sold with "no line" - an empty spool. The NL-2 was sold with 2 empty spools. The plain jane 2062 was sold with line on one spool. You could also get a 2062-2, and you guessed it - sold with 2 spools with line on them. How interesting that Shakespeare thought it was necessary for the emblem on the reel itself to signify how it was supplied to the customer! I am still fishing with the first one of these I bought new in 1968. As you can see these reels were not exactly cheap at the time. In today's dollars, a 2062 (with line) would sell for $227.02 (according to the www.dollartimes.com website $1 in 1965 had the same buying power as $7.58 in 2016). This probably explains why everything is made in China these days, and the prices don't seem to have changed much despite the inflation over the last 48 years. The 2062 reels have only a few moving parts but are very smooth. I have owned many other brands, which have all seemed to conk out eventually, but this one just keeps on reeling.
Yeah, Fred discussed that info awhile back. (https://alantani.com/index.php?topic=25184.msg283720#msg283720)
Still...why would Shakespeare actually mark the reel with, in essence, a code as to how the spool was sold--empty or no?
Frank
Quote from: happyhooker on March 01, 2019, 03:21:51 AM
Still...why would Shakespeare actually mark the reel with, in essence, a code as to how the spool was sold--empty or no?
Frank
That would be the $64K question. :D It was on the boxes, too, so maybe they were just trying to stay consistent and carry it throughout. To my knowledge they only did it on the 2052, 2062 & 2068.
Been wondering bout that'n too. If I's doin it, I'd've put (NL) on the box next to the model #, but not on the reel emblem.
I agree, very strange that Shakespeare decided to put it on the reels emblem for posterity to see.
Plain Jane 2062, 2062 NL or 2062 NL-2 doesn't matter, they'll land a big fish.
I found this video of a catfisherman pulling in a nice spotted bass, a big blue cat, and a big poor man's redfish from the Tennessee River using a scuffed up 2062 that's lost its badge..
https://youtu.be/uX-altale9g?t=149