South bend 9 fly pole

Question
Hi my name is Luss my dad and I are currently helping a lady whose husband just died sell some of his antiques.There only surviving relative a grandson doesn't want any of it. she gave me two fishing poles and I saw a post you wrote on a similar item and am hoping you can help.
The first is a South Bend It is in great shape with only a little wear on the handle. All four pieces are there along with the canvas carry bag and what looks like the original card board tube with a wax coating and metal screw on cap. The numbers on the bag are 59 811 9
I don't know if you do any thing other than fly rods but the second pole is an Ambassador True Temper model 4540 6'1/2  it has a Penn model 500 reel. I do allot of salt water fishing and have never seen a rig like this.I belive they are older but I'm not sure how old.But both are in excellent condition with just some good American wear and tear.

Answer
Hi Luss,

The South Bend model #59 you have is 9'0" long.  If there is nothing wrong with the rod other thna a little wear on the cork handle, it would likely be rated in Excellent condition.  Don't clean the handle, by the way...it would lower the value if you did.  In Excellent condition this rod would be valued in the $200-$250 range.

I don't have a lot of data on the True Temper fiberglass models.  I assume this one is glass and not steel.  It is older than 1989 since that is when True Temper was bought by Black & Decker.  If it is fiberglass, it is probably from the 1960-1989 time frame.  If it is steel, it would be in the  1930-1960 era plus or minus a few years on the newer end of that range.  Value on this rod won't be too high, perhaps $20-$40, and the reel will be valued separately, maybe $15-$20, both values depending on the condition of each piece.

Hope this helps.  Sounds like you got a nice gift.

Joe