I am not sure if this is the right forum - but I was surfing EBAY and noticed that ABu Garcia C4 spinning reels from the 1980s seems to be somewhat collectible - at least they tend fetch up to $90-$100 on auctions...

anyone of you good "experts" have any idea why this particular reel is so special?

My brother has one and he asked me to ask

the ebay link is this:

http://tinyurl.com/q5wf

The old C series reels were pretty good in their day, but I think the current crop of Shimanos and Okumas beats them hands down. I still have a few of the C series reels around, but I'd be hard pressed to want to pay much for another one. The Shimano Sahara is a great reel for about 60 bucks.

to my knowledge, abu never made a c4 spinning reel. if you're talking about the old ambassadeurs with non-palming side plates(flat left plate with a brake knob in the center), they're pretty collectable. some were made in rare colors like a brown 5500c, others are just out of the ordinary nowadays, like the 5000D knucklebuster

the price ranges from 30-150$ usually on those kind of reels, depending on what shape theyre in. i know quite a few people who still use them, since they're very durable and handle big fish very well

abu still makes reels that look just like the old ones, only thing is that they're not usually sold in the us. some popular models are the 6500CS rocket, 65/5500CS Mag, and 6500/5500C3CT

one of the main reasons i use abu's reels is because they use brass or stainless gears in all their reels. shimano and most other manufacturers besides maybe penn use nylon and plastic gears in their reels. when you use them in cold weather with big fish, they tend to break. that, and the cost of fixing an ambassadeur is far cheaper than say, a calcutta. just keep it oiled and you probably won't even get that far

[edit] i didn't check the link. never thought an old cardinal could fetch so much on ebay, i've used them for years and they're good, but not the greatest spinning reels out there

They're a collector's item but they're also a great spinning reel. I own a bunch of them, including the Cardinal 3, 4, 6, and 7. I've been using the C4 since I bought my first in 1972 (at the age of 14) and I've been using them ever since. The drag is unbelievable. The only downside is the lack of spare parts. They stopped making them in about 1984 so it's tough to get replacement parts.

Are there better spinning reels out there at a better price? Sure, plenty. Shimano makes several. But they're just spinning reels. They ain't a collector's item. Sorta like having a 1964 Mustang in your driveway. Does Ford make better, safer cars? Sure. But for anyone who's first car was a 1964 Mustang, it's priceless.

i have a couple cardinal 100 series(102 and 102) that i use for trout fishing, they seem to be good reels for the 25$ i paid for each of them. i used to have a cardinal max that i loved until a screw in the drivetrain got ground into the ring gear and destroyed itself and the gear i had to junk it