There's a local guy with a handful of round reels I'm interested in checking out. He has a few old Lew BB1 variants, a bunch of Shimano spinning reels and such, and a handful of Abus. He has some Abu BCXs as well, which I am staying away from. I emailed and asked what Swedish ones he had left and he said all were Swedish (everything I've seen on the BCX says China) except his Ambassadeur 6000 doesn't say Made In Sweden on it. Though it has the appearance of a Swedish made unit, I'm just not familiar enough with them to know whether they are actually Swedish or not.
Anywho, he looks to have a couple of the 6000s in question, a silver 5500 CS, a silver 4600 C4 Mag, a silver 5500 C3 and a couple older looking unnamed black ones. Also, a vintage Penn Peerless 9 I may check out as well, assuming it's a US made model.
Not sure Abu made a 6000S. They made a 6500S (China) which has had some bad reviews. https://youtu.be/rueo-ptwICY
I think all the reels you show were made in Sweden, prior to 2006 or so.
Really, most of the 6xxx and under are, with only the low-budget end like the BCX you mentioned and a few others being made in China. You seem to be aware of this already, so just trust your judgement.
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Whoever had them was fond of the thumb rest, wasn't he?
-steve
Not a 6000S, 6000s, the s just made it plural, sorry for the confusion. Im going to see if I can get more pics of the Abus first since he's about 45 minutes away from me. I may just stay away from the 6000 since it doesn't say it's made in Sweden juuuuust to be safe. Appreciate the help guys.
That's a Swedish Abu 6000 in the first pic.
I thought it was because of the look and the decal, but he says it doesnt say Made In Sweden. Though, I guess he may have been confused and thought I was asking about one of the BCX Chinese made reels. He's supposed to be sending me some pics of the ones I listed, I may pick some up today. Anyone want to venture a guess on estimated values?
Those are all Swedish, you can make out the Made in Sweden stamping on the side plate. On the S, SX, BCX, and STX rounds reels, they usually have a Made in China sticker on the reel foot.
tincanary has it right. The Swedish Ambassadeurs should have "Made in Sweden" stamped on the right (handle side) side plate.
Tom