Victorian Fly Fishing Reel, Smooth Coppers and Flat Buttons

[ANTIQUARIAN]

This is a culmination of three hunts at three sites over three days this past Victoria Day long weekend here in Ontario. These are all sites that I can only detect in the early spring after the fields have been disked and before they get replanted. The first site was an early homestead site the Arkies dug in 2015, this is where I found the 6 early buttons. The next site is where I’ve found at least 12 early coins/token, unfortunately the soil here is not kind to coppers and some come out in the condition these two came out in. Both of these coins are likely to be George III Halfpenny coins, these were struck from 1760 - 1820.

The last site I detected was a 5-acre field, it sits directly behind a homestead that was active from 1840 – 1920 or thereabouts. It was in this field that I found the gold wax letter seal last week. My first find here was a very thin beat-up early copper coin. My next find was half of a brass Victorian fly fishing reel, thankfully, about 30 feet along the same row I found the missing opposite side.


Victorian Fly Fishing Reel
1800’s brass Birmingham Fly Fishing Reel with unique fishing scenes on both side plates, maker unknown. “This attractive Birmingham reel, featuring bas relief angling scenes on the plates, it was commercially produced in at least two sizes, both as a crank-handle reel and as a revolving plate reel. It appears to be a Victorian-era British-made product. However, the design was reproduced in Germany during the 1970s, and it is now difficult to differentiate the original reels from the reproductions.” You can view a photo of a 1970 repro fishing reel shown in my last pic.

Reuben Heaton Fishing Scene Reels 1890-1910
One of the most attractive vintage brass fishing reels is this model with the embossed fishing scene side plate. Made by Reuben Heaton of Birmingham, England they date from c 1890 to 1910. The reels came in assorted finishes including brass, bronze and silvered. The side plates or medals could at the point of manufacture be fitted to either plain, multiplier or plate wind winches so that indicates the embossed scene started out more as a separate medallion rather than cast as part of the reel.

If you’re really lucky you may find the initials RH embossed at the lower bank portion by the creel. I had a few over the years but not many. The reels would come with and without a check clicker, assorted handle materials to make a few variants to collect. The plate wind and multiplier versions are super rare and a good find for any collector. There were some later replicas appearing at various antique fairs some 20-30 years ago. These can be easily spotted as they are a thin bent plate brass, the angling detail is fuzzy, they are often bent and come with a handle pin but no handle knob, so if it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t.

Here’s a link to the website if anyone is interested… https://www.thomasturner.com/reuben-heaton-fishing-scene-reels-1890-1910/

Thanks very much for looking,
Dave

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A History of Mining on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska - Grab it through Amazon!

[bologna321]

Love that fishing reel!

 

[erfranks]

Nice Saves!!!, the Reel is sweet

 

[Toecutter]

Well done sir!! Recovery, restoring and write up you ANTIQUARIAN are a example to follow!!

 

[Diggin Dude]

Excellent !! Love that real and early coppers! Congrats

 

[Tpmetal]

saw the title and skipped past everything to see the reel! imagine how many meals that thing pulled in for someone!

 

[Blak bart]

Holy cow....I mean mackerel !! That thing is a work of beauty !! That would be an extra special prized relic for a fisherman like me dave !! Well done post like toe says !! Congratulations on the super special fishing relic....for me its a banner find, and I'll vote for it !! Very nice !!

 

[Steve in PA]

That fly reel is reelly cool!

 

[Tony in SC]

Really good stuff!! Like the old reel, I have a few. There's a facebook page called Reely Old Reels that has some.

 

[Digger RJ]

Nice Hunt!!! Congrats!!! That's a Cool old fishing reel!!

 

[DigToChina]

That reel that you reeled in really is the real deal! Now that’s dirt fishing!

 

[Coinstar magnet]

That reel is really really cool...sorry I couldn’t help myself...but that is quite a find...congratulations!

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Love that fishing reel!

Thanks for your post bologna.

Nice Saves!!!, the Reel is sweet

Thank you Sir.

Well done sir!! Recovery, restoring and write up you ANTIQUARIAN are a example to follow!!

Thanks Toe, I appreciate you noticing the effort I put into my posts.
Dave

Excellent !! Love that real and early coppers! Congrats

Thank you for your post DD, I do wish the coppers had turned out to be in better shape though.
Hope you're having a good year in NY,
Dave

saw the title and skipped past everything to see the reel! imagine how many meals that thing pulled in for someone!

That's funny TP.
I know there are a lot of fishermen out there who would appreciate this find.
Dave

Holy cow....I mean mackerel !! That thing is a work of beauty !! That would be an extra special prized relic for a fisherman like me dave !! Well done post like toe says !! Congratulations on the super special fishing relic....for me its a banner find, and I'll vote for it !! Very nice !!

Thank you so much for your BANNER vote Bart, this mean a lot coming from you.
Although, I think unless it's made of a precious metal or it's of incredible rarity, then it'll likely not to make the BANNER.

Congrats again on your latest BANNER find my friend,
Dave

That fly reel is reelly cool!

Thanks Steve, it was reely exciting to find.
Dave

Really good stuff!! Like the old reel, I have a few. There's a facebook page called Reely Old Reels that has some.

Thank for the information on 'Reely Old Reels', unfortunately I'm not on Facebook.
Dave

Nice Hunt!!! Congrats!!! That's a Cool old fishing reel!!

Thanks randy, I appreciate your support.

That reel that you reeled in really is the real deal! Now that’s dirt fishing!

I'm surprised it took so long for someone to use the term 'dirt fishing' in reference to my find.
Hope you're having a good year so far, love that silver bracelet you found the other day.
Dave

That reel is really really cool...sorry I couldn’t help myself...but that is quite a find...congratulations!

Thanks for your post Coinstar.
I was actually surprised at how nicely it cleaned up too.
Every-time I pass a Coinstar machine I think about your success with them.
Dave

 

[E-Trac-Ohio]

A unique find - very cool !

 

[park pirate]

The fishing reel is killer...

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

A unique find - very cool !

Thank you for your post my friend, I appreciate it.

The fishing reel is killer...

Thanks very much Anthony, hope you're having a great year in NY.
Dave


For those fishermen who might be interested in the history of the maker of this reel.

Reuben Heaton - Company History

Reuben Heaton has its roots firmly set in the angling industry and was founded in 1857 by its namesake Reuben George Heaton. In the early years, the company was predominantly a manufacturer of fishing reels, but this manufacturing base was quickly extended to cover many other items of angling equipment. By the early 1870’s Heaton’s fishing reels and angling products were sold worldwide in their tens of thousands. Right from his early years in the industry to around the turn of the century, Reuben Heaton was responsible for many of the early innovations that have shaped the angling equipment we know today. Very little is known about the early years of the company prior to the 1880's. The evidence of Reuben's business success and his influence on angling is borne out by the prolific number of inventions and patents applied for during this period. From the Hospital Street premises, we see the evidence of frantic development in rods, rod rings and ferrules, landing nets, balances, gut twisting machines, baits and of course the full range of metal and wood reels including both centerpin and multiplying designs.

Business continued to flourish at the new site during the early 1900's, with the product range as strong and diverse as ever. The mainstay of the production at this time were the wooden reels for both course and sea, with the company proudly boasting of its production rate in the tens of thousands per year. The range of metal reels in brass and alloy shows development in this sector too, but the emphasis was on wood. As seems to be the case throughout the company's history, the majority of products bore no Heaton's marks. Many reels were manufactured in great quantity for other companies such as Allcocks and Army and Navy, and more often than not stamped with the customer's name, or just left blank. Whilst Heaton's now produces many products for sale outside the sphere of angling, the angling market still forms the heart of the company. Now just 147 years young, the company continues into the new millennium, development and design of new products continues, and hopefully more milestones will be celebrated in the future.

 

[Hunk-a-lead]

amazing saves and such a cool reel

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

amazing saves and such a cool reel

Thanks very much BP, hope you're having a great year in KC.
Dave

 

[Trezurehunter]

Now that's what I call Dirt Fishing ! That fishing reel is a great old find.

 

[Lenrac2]

Love that reel!!