In need of Vintage Bantam 100 Help ...

[jpd0144]

I recently picked up a vintage Bantam 100 reel in really nice shape ( the old silver body and rosewood grip model). When I was starting out my bait casting adventure at about the age of 12 and getting away from Zebco 33's I was given one of these in already used condition. I fished it for a summer or so before stepping up to the plate to make my first bait caster purchase with money I had saved over the summer working in the field with Paw Paw. I was a proud owner then of a Ryobi V-mag. That was somewhere around 1985 or 86.

I ended up letting go of that little Bantam 100 reel to a friend of mine and always wished I would have kept it. Although not the exact same one but it's one like it, I'm all grins ear to ear to have another in my posession. I know they are not reare but the fact that it brings back lots of memories just to sit there and turn the handle and think about trips with my Paw Paw or pond hopping with friends by bicycle is cool ...

I have limited knowledge of what years they were actually produced. Also what year mine may actually be? The reel foot is stamped CJ for what seems to be the date code. Can anyone help with this?

Thanks in advance and tight lines ... Jeff ><>

[Pmedicbm]

Jeff, I can't be exact but I know those were offered for sale around the early to mid 80's. I owned a few of the original 10SG's which were just after Shimano learned they could make the sideplates out of graphite and cheapen it up a bit and I bought those back in like 83-84. I also saw someone over on anothe website who had a Ryobi V-Mag that was in great shape for only $18. PM me if your'e interested and I'll tell you which page it's on. It on the site Al owns... Brad

[jpd0144]

Thanks Brad for the input and the offer for the Ryobi V mag. I think I going to hold off on it for now. If you happen to come accross any more info though I would appreciate if you could pass it this way. Im trying to get all my facts staraight as it has become somewhat of a conversation peice around my work office. However its kind of hard to answer alot of the questions im getting asked when all I can elaborate on is memories of fishing it but without hardly any specs or time frames on it. I was way to young then to make notes I just to wanted to fish it ...

[Reel Old Geezer]

The first Shimano Bantam 100 came out in 1978. It was cataloged until 1981, when it was replaced by the Bantam 100SG. The SG stood for super gears and this reel had the same body as the 100, but had paddle handle grips. The original 100 had a 4.7:1 gear ratio, held 150 yards of 10 # test mono, had 2 ball bearings and weighed 7.7 ounces. The introductory list price was $55.00. These reels are still fairly common but an EX in Box version averages $146.00 on eBay.

This new in box example is from my collection of Shimano Bantam reels. The above information is from my book, Shimano Bantams - The 1st 15 Years. Information about it can be found at
http://www.oldreels.com/shimano_bantams.htm

[Speckled]

About time, ROG!!

Hadn't seen you around lately .

[jpd0144]

Thank you ROG very very much for the input ! Nice to have some actual specs on the reel. I dont know why I waited so long to get one. Ive seen them on ebay but never made a move to bid/purchase. If only I would of known that to actually sit and play with one again would breing back so many memories I would of acted a whole lot sooner...

Jeff

[jpd0144]

. These reels are still fairly common but an EX in Box version averages $146.00 on eBay.

Just to pass on to ya ROG ... would hate for you to under price your collection. I know you posted a pic. of your 100 with a box that looks to be in VG condition. I can’t imaging what your collection looks like and consist of! If you have an EX in this shape? ... Well that last one I watched went for $405.00 plus shipping. This auction is not over yet but as you can see is currently over $350.00 with time left to go as I post. It should be ending later this evening ...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... K:MEWAX:IT

I have seen the EX's grow in value very much over the last year. I can remember gawking at them with desire when I was a kid but were out of my price range back then. Somewhere around $85.00 ? Looks like they still out of my price range Anyways it’s the 100 I was after purely for memories. I did do some research and found that my dated “CJ" reel was made in October 1978. Not as valuable as an EX but I don’t tend to ever part with it.

[Reel Old Geezer]

The 100EX is a much harder reel to find than the standard silver 100. It was made from 1978-81. It is the only early Bantam made with a metal backplate, which was required to house the "lure control" mechanism to help cast UL lures. I do have a prototype in my collection that came from the Shimano factory in Japan, that was probably the forerunner to the 100EX. Here is my 100EX, which is also NIB.


I think one of the neatest Shimano Bantams that I have is the salt water huge version of the 100EX. Take a look at it compared to the standard Bantam 100EX. This was a JDM reel only.

would hate for you to under price your collection.

At one point I had well over 100 different Shimano Bantams in boxes. I purchased many of them just to photograph for my book. I have since sold a few of the more common reels - but they were offered on eBay and went for about what I expected.

[jpd0144]

For some reson ROG the pics are not showing up and would really like to see them . Would you please try and resubmit them ?

[SLM]

The original 100 had a 4.7:1 gear ratio, held 150 yards of 10 # test mono, had 2 ball bearings and weighed 7.7 ounces. The introductory list price was $55.00.

When I was 13 years old the 1980 BPS Christmas catalog had the Bantam 100 and ABU 5500CA on sale for $39.99--I couldn't decide which one to order. I ended up ordering the 5500CA and a school chum got the Bantam 100. Although I really loved the 5500CA and caught lots of fish with it (it's still in great condition and I have the box and accessories), I always wished that I had purchased the Bantam.

Years later I eventually ended up with a couple used Bantam 100s in excellent condition along with a Bantam 200, its slightly larger counterpart. You don't hear much about the 200 though.

[Reel Old Geezer]

In all, there was a 100, 100EX, 200, 201, 300, 400, 500, 1000 (not larger. Light-weight tournament reel). Other than the 100, the one that brings the most interest is the 201, Shimano's first left handed reel. They dubbed it "THE TRUE RIGHT HAND REEL". It was also the first Shimano reel to have the anti-reverse switch. This was a feature I really liked on a FW bass reel. I could crank my drag down hard and set the hook. Then I'd turn off the switch and fight the fish with my thumb as the drag. These bring top dollar from the guys who want to fish these older Bantams. My own choice as a user is the 1000. Here's my 201:

[jpd0144]

ROG ... Truely amazing to see your pics and read your input. Thanks for sharing with us !

[rangerjoe]

I have a Bantam 100, with a gator grip handle which was a common upgrade since the stock handle was short. Had nothing but 100 and 300 Shimano's in the late '70's and early '80's.

[Cagey]

Is this Phil White who wrote the book on Shimano Bantams?

[FrankW]

I have a Bantam Black Magnum 100ULS that is all graphite.

Frank