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Collectors club offers appraisals and chance to buy and
sell antiques
By RAY SASSER / The Dallas Morning News
rsasser@dallasnews.com
The National Fishing Lure Collectors Club is holding its annual Antique
Fishing Tackle show Saturday in Grapevine. Think Antiques Road Show
without Tiffany lamps, ornate furniture, smoky paintings, moth-eaten
Persian rugs or Civil War relics.
In fact, the show is very much like a version of the PBS television series
Antiques Road Show except it is restricted to fishing tackle, said
Burleson lure collector Chip Rice, a veterinarian.
"We will have quite a few true experts on hand to appraise items that the
public brings in," Rice said. "Unlike Antiques Road Show , the public at
our show has an option of putting their old fishing gear in our auction."
NFLCC members go to great lengths to ensure fair prices, Rice added.
Visitors can run their items through the auction with a minimum sale price
attached. If the gear doesn't bring the minimum price, they can take it
home.
"A couple of years ago, we had a guy bring in an early Shakespeare lure
that was still in the box," Rice said. "It was a rare item, and I gave him
a conservative estimate of $750. He put the lure in our auction, and a
couple of guys decided they wanted it pretty badly. When the bidding got
to $4,000, I looked at the owner and there were tears running down his
face."
The top lure last year sold for $800. Rice remembered a tackle box that
included a few nice collectibles. The entire box was worth about $1,500.
Most old fishing tackle is not worth much at all. That's what you miss on
Antiques Road Show. Each episode spotlights a handful of interesting
pieces from hundreds of items brought in for appraisal. Most of those
antiques aren't worth much, either.
Fishing tackle started gaining prominence among collectors when NFLCC was
founded in the 1970s. Texas has about as many lure collectors as any
state. There are several serious collectors in the Dallas area, but Rice
says most tackle collectors are specialists.
"We have members who concentrate on Texas lures and tackle, for instance,"
he said. "Others are only interested in fly-fishing gear, and some people
only buy lures of a certain color. We have collectors who concentrate on
fishing reels or fishing rods."
Oklahoma's Karl T. White is one of America's best-known fishing tackle
collectors. His collection includes more than 20,000 items and takes up
4,000 square feet of exhibit space in the Oklahoma Aquarium near Tulsa.
White's collection is valued at more than $4 million.
According to White, who has written books on evaluating tackle, the appeal
of sporting antiques is based on traditions that remain essentially the
same as they were 100 years ago. Only the equipment has changed.
Rice said it's possible to find fishing tackle treasures at flea markets
and garage sales. It helps to get there early. Rice has friends who arrive
so early for advertised sales that they need a flashlight to evaluate
merchandise.
Like all those people who line up for Antiques Road Show, the average
fishing enthusiast doesn't know if the tackle box he found in the attic
contains valuable gear or not. That's where the NFLCC comes in.
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