Reeling In The Big Bucks

You may find a treasure in that old collection of fishing equipment. Certain fishing reels can bring in thousands of dollars.

CBS News Saturday Morning's collectibles expert Tony Hyman explains which ones are collectible and which ones are junk.

For example, a Michigan antique dealer bought a fishing reel at a yard sale for a buck. He resold it for $3. What's it really worth? Believe it or not, a few serious collectors would pay up to $15,000 for it.

Valuable reels look and feel like precision tools. Check the handle. Does it turn smoothly, like quality machinery?

$15,000 fishing reel

Feel the weight. You want something heavy for its size, brass or silver. It is best if it is screwed together, not welded.

Look for the name of the maker, retailer or owner engraved on the reel itself.

Names that indicate value include Meek, Talbot, Snyder, Sage, Gayle and others.

They're fine for fishing, but there's not much collector value to reels made by South Bend, Pflueger, Penn, True Temper or Shakespeare. If there's no name at all, it's probably junk.

Finding a serial number is good, since nearly all reels with serial numbers are collectible and will bring from $50 to $1,000 or more.

Finally, if you think you have a valuable reel, don't clean it, not even a little bit. You could cut the value in half.

For more information on collectible fishing gear, Hyman recommends Rick Edmisten, an expert buyer of fishing tackle made before 1945 and author of Fishing Lure Collectibles. His email address is rick@flc.com.

If you think you have a collectible worth a lot of cash, send an email to sat@cbsnews.com. Put "What's It Worth?" in the subject line, or write to "What's It Worth?" CBS News Saturday Morning, 514 West 57th St., 6th floor, New York, N.Y. 10019.

Please note that because of the volume of mail received, Saturday Morning can't respond to all requests, but some will be selected and featured on the show in the near future.

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