Cost of Vintage Fishing lures

[fatworm]

Is there a price range on vintage lures? I ask because recently I ran into a yard sale selling lures that looked similar to the Bass Oreno. One was called "little louis" and the rest were too worn out to read. The lady was asking $400 for a tackle box full of these lures and some other miscellaneous odds and ends. I thought that was a little too expensive for my pocket.

[JoeW]

Hi fatworm--- I was afraid someone was going to ask about values sooner or later! It's like asking a guy "How much are old coins worth?". There's four things that affect the value of any vintage item- old tackle included--- scarcity, condition, color, and "collector desirability". A common old lure, in rough condition and a common color, with few collectors wanting them may actually be worthless. O the other hand, a bait made a long time ago and in limited numbers, in like-new condition and popular with collectors, could easily have a value of $400 or a lot more! Quick example--- the Bass-Oreno from a previous post----- fairly common (they made 100,000's of them) even though they are "old", common R/W color, Mint in Box!, and with so-so collector interest is worth about $35. The dated Buel Spinner from another post is very scarce to find, has a high collector interest, and even though condition is just "good"--- is worth around $500! Confused? It sometimes boils down also, to how much YOU value a particular lure--- many times I've paid much more for an old bait than it was "worth" just because I wanted it for my collection, and I've sold/traded lures for less simply because I didn't "like" them! I would have liked to have seen that tackle box!
I don't know of a lure called a "little louis", but there is one called a "Lucky Louie", made in Seatle in the 1950's, that in Ex condition has a value of around $30? It was another NW Salmon Plug. Any more questions- fire away! Best---- JoeW

[RAK]

I will keep an eye on fishing lures in yard sales.

[fatworm]

Hi fatworm--- I was afraid someone was going to ask about values sooner or later! It's like asking a guy "How much are old coins worth?". There's four things that affect the value of any vintage item- old tackle included--- scarcity, condition, color, and "collector desirability". A common old lure, in rough condition and a common color, with few collectors wanting them may actually be worthless. O the other hand, a bait made a long time ago and in limited numbers, in like-new condition and popular with collectors, could easily have a value of $400 or a lot more! Quick example--- the Bass-Oreno from a previous post----- fairly common (they made 100,000's of them) even though they are "old", common R/W color, Mint in Box!, and with so-so collector interest is worth about $35. The dated Buel Spinner from another post is very scarce to find, has a high collector interest, and even though condition is just "good"--- is worth around $500! Confused? It sometimes boils down also, to how much YOU value a particular lure--- many times I've paid much more for an old bait than it was "worth" just because I wanted it for my collection, and I've sold/traded lures for less simply because I didn't "like" them! I would have liked to have seen that tackle box!
I don't know of a lure called a "little louis", but there is one called a "Lucky Louie", made in Seatle in the 1950's, that in Ex condition has a value of around $30? It was another NW Salmon Plug. Any more questions- fire away! Best---- JoeW

Oh, wow! Those lures get pricey!

I know most collectors would pay a lot of money just to put it in their collection. :)

Thats probably what it was called. It was pink and white in color.