Grampus Bamboo Fishing pole
Question
I have three Grampus poles in the original cases made by Kiraku and Co Inc. The large one is the model 503. It also has a Hawk Brand pole from tokyo fishing co in the case as well. The 503 appears unused. The next one is a model 261 which looks almost as good as new. The last one is a smaller pole that I can not make the model number out on. I would like to sell these for my mother who purched them in Tokyo when she was in the navy at least 50 years ago. Where would I go to sell these, and how mush do you think they are worth?
Answer
Eric,
Unfortunately there is nothing written in English on Japanese rods that I have been able to find
ebay has one :
http://cgi.ebay.com/GRAMPUS-BAMBOO-FISHING-POLE-WITH-FLIES-KIRAKU-JAPAN_W0QQitem...
He wants $500 . I doubt if he will get $50 unless some GI wants a memorial keep sake.
It looks like all the Japanese rods I've ever seen so I usually say :I don't know how old you are but when I was a kid in the 50s Japanese made trinkets to survive . Made in Japan was synonymous with junk .Originally sold by the thousands to GIs through the 60s, in a light long box with lures and huge flies . Mostly considered trinkets by collectors and memorial to GIs , they have little resale or fishing value.
Good Luck,
Mac
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