Coloured Penn Reels

Started by Superhook, December 20, 2014, 10:58:14 PM

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Keta

#15
Wow!!!  I love the 349.  I've been watching colored Monofils but the prices are higher than I want to part with for a dust collector.
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coastal_dan

Beautiful examples.  Thanks for sharing. 

As far as marbling goes on the side plates, was the addition of the second pigment done by hand?  It seems the exact pattern is never consistent.  I do not own any, but I've seen some varying reels with the brown/maroon and black marbling that is quite interesting.
Dan from Philadelphia...

Where Land Ends Life Begins...

Superhook

Dan,

I believe that marbling effect of brown and black and some others with red,green yellow and black are just whatever happens when the pellets of colours are mixed , melt together and forced into the moulds.   The solid individual coloured plates  are the only ones that they had 100% total control on the outcome.

Ray

foakes

All beautiful --

Really love that 349 in teal green.

Best,

Fred
The Official, Un-Authorized Service and Restoration Center for quality vintage spinning reels.

D-A-M Quick, Penn, Mitchell, and ABU/Zebco Cardinals

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Penn Chronology

#19
I guess in terms of popularity, the Green 349 wins.

But there are other odd Penn colors that are kind of cool and very rare. I will take two out of my collection for viewing today. My old 1939 Penn Sea Gate, Model 126, 300 yard special order reel. This is the only one I have ever seen, so I had to keep it.

When I got it, it looked like a reel recovered from the Titanic but it was all there, I know it cleaned up rough but the historical significance can not be over stated in terms of Penn;

Even the handle knob was different. The tail plate was broken in half and feel apart as soon as I removed it from the reel. I epoxied it and reused it. It is an irreplaceable part.

               This reel came from California in the days when reel rental stores ordered reels in different colors to easily identify them for end of day collection. Most of these reel were fished to extinction but from time to time one shows up. The key is for the right person to find it and become its custodian.

And then there is always the fun Penn 85 in its limitless variations:


broadway

Mike, I always love seeing that 85 with that super rare white spool.
That sea gate is definitely a rare bird. Mustard colored 300 yd 126 sea gate... you have a better chance on being eaten by a shark in your bath tub than you do finding another one of those.
Sweet stuff,
Dom

Penn Chronology

#21
QuoteMike, I always love seeing that 85 with that super rare white spool.
That sea gate is definitely a rare bird. Mustard colored 300 yd 126 sea gate... you have a better chance on being eaten by a shark in your bath tub than you do finding another one of those.
Sweet stuff,

The Penn 85 with red plates is a tough find but the white spool is not as Rare as you would think. They are not easy to find but quite a few Penn 80's were made with the white spool.

         A very simple reel from the 1940's, here is where the white spool is mostly used. It is not an easy find and many times they get so dirty that is hard to see the white color, especially if it is full of old dirty linen line. The spool from the Penn 80 is interchangeable with the Penn 85.

You are correct about the Sea Gate, it is super rare.

broadway

Maybe I've passed it by but I've been pretty diligent on ebay in the past few years and have seen one yet. :-\
They're certainly a nice addition to the collection.
Thanks for sharing,
Dom

Alto Mare

They're all nice, but that 85 is gorgeous. Dom,that 85  would look sharp next to big red, make him an offer he can't refuse ;D
Forget about all the reasons why something may not work. You only need to find one good reason why it will.

harryk3616

last year i picked up a penn 27 lipstick color, at first i was baffled why it didn't crank nice, come to find out quickly it was left handed, figured that was rare

Penn Chronology

#25
Quotelast year i picked up a penn 27 lipstick color, at first i was baffled why it didn't crank nice, come to find out quickly it was left handed, figured that was rare

"Rare" is a funny word. I see it used all over EBay very loosely. Seems like every time someone wants to sell something, they call it "Rare".

I am very sensitive to that word. "Rare" means the item is extremely hard to find and it is a significant enough item to generate much more demand than the existing quantities can ever supply.

So an item, that is not an easy find, like a Monfil 27 in left hand drive may be called "Rare" but I do not feel it is truly "Rare". Sometimes, if you are not deeply involved in something, you may feel an item is rare because you had a hard time finding it, but after you learn more about it, you discover that they are out there. Other times "Rare" can simply become Seasonal, where this year it is impossible to find and in two years you seem to be tripping over them.

Other contributing factors to the world of "Rare" are what I call the "Avenues of Availability". In the 1980's, a Julius Vom Hofe 6/O--B Ocean Model:

would sell in the $1000 to $2000 range because they were very difficult to find and were considered "Rare", but in today's EBay world, you can buy this reel in this condition for about $350. They are still special but they are not rare. Today their historical significance out weights their monetary value.

So,,,,

Dominick,

QuoteMaybe I've passed it by but I've been pretty diligent on ebay in the past few years and have seen one yet. Undecided

I will keep looking for one for you. The next White spool I find will be yours.  


broadway

Point taken, rare is a subjective word to say the least, especially in the world of collecting. ;)
Nice Vom Hofe, Mike. Clean, original Vom Hofe's will continue to climb in price.
As for looking out for a white spool for me... that would be awesome and add that touch of elegance to my collection, thank you.
Dom

coastal_dan

Love this thread...read it a few times over the last couple months haha.

Mods - anyway we can stickie this in the collectors sub-forum?

It should stick around!
Dan from Philadelphia...

Where Land Ends Life Begins...

Penn Chronology

#28
QuoteMods - anyway we can stickie this in the collectors sub-forum?

Great idea because this is a special area that can always be added to. New discoveries are always happening, especially with eagle eye collectors like Superhook aka Ray from the Land of Oz.

Here are two recent acquisitions by Ray. These are one off color variants from the California reel rental shops of the 1930's:


                These are truly rare. The reel on the left is a Penn Bridge City model and on the right is another variant Bayhead. Rental reels are not usually mint, they have many more hours of use than your standard everyday reel, so these survivors are really special.



               Finding these reels with non-matching side plates is more normal than a matching version.



               This Bridge City model is in very good condition for a rental reel.

Thanks to Ray's keen color vision, these two old rare color variants were not lost.

broadway

Damn... Ray you're good! Thanks for posting these for us... I look pretty hard but almost never see anything like these amazing pieces.  Were those ebay finds?  Are those from the 30's or early 40's?
Because of you guys I work hard at finding these rare relics that I never knew existed with the exception of big red that I just got lucky and took a chance on.
Great stuff!
Dom