If you want to get into a fired up argument, put three lure collectors in a circle, throw a lure in the middle and ask for a grade. More than likely, you will get three different opinions.

Fact: Everyone has problems when grading older (pre-1940) lures or boxes because it is totally subjective. When you start getting picky about lure condition, a 10X hand-held glass magnifying lens is handy for examining the paint surface, hardware, and searching for crazing. I frequently look at lures under a 30X binocular dissecting microscope just to get an idea of how the surfaces look at high magnification. This is getting kind of anal about the topic, but if you are looking for fakes, it is an excellent way to detect "workmanship".

Visual values vary considerably from person to person. As we all know, not everyone has good taste or appreciation for details. But being old is no excuse for poor condition. I don't know how many times I've heard some guy lecture me that: "These lures are over 80 years old you know, so you have to expect a few chips and scrapes." And I just calmly reply, "True, sir, but the price will have to adjust accordingly for the chips and scrapes!"

If you've got chips and scrapes, then we are not talking excellent condition or excellent prices. If you intend to collect high-grade, excellent condition lures, the following will explain what excellent and mint mean:

Mint or New In The Box: perfect and untouched, new, unfished, no crazing, and unused. Mint is new from the factory. New! No flaws whatever, even the varnish is completely clear. Mint is the way they looked the day they were put in the box at the factory.

Excellent: an almost new lure. It has some minor, and I do mean minor, defects like tiny pointers (see definitions below) or a tiny varnish flake. It has most likely never seen water. Excellent means there is nothing missing from the paint or varnish. The paint will be shiny and not dull. Dull dirty paint or baits exposed to gasoline will not have a glossy finish. With Excellent, there are no obvious paint chips, no big varnish flakes, but there may be a ring around the belly weight. Expect very minor unopened age cracks or some "crazing" of the varnish.

Excellent has two parts:
An Excellent Plus lure means there are no hook pointers in the paint, absolutely no hook scrapes, no paint off the belly weight, no paint chips and no varnish flakes. The paint is shiny, but there may be some age-related crazing or very minor fracture cracks in the varnish or paint.

Excellent Minus allows for some minor varnish defects, but no paint loss other than maybe very, very minor chips at the tail or belly weight, and no hook drags. Hooks and hardware should be consistent with the paint finish.
Very Good: Little age cracks; some minor defects.
Good: Some age cracks; starting to chip; small defects.
Average: Some paint loss and/or chipping; showing age.
Fair: Major paint loss and/or defects; much chipping.
Poor: Parts missing; poor color and/or major chipping.
Repaint: Original paint covered in part or all.

Visual Values: Definitions & Terms
The following are commonly used terms of defects that alter the grade of a lure. They are the types of defects that can change a grade by a plus or minus, and understandably the price. No one defect will set the grade, but these are the types of problems which can be used to differentiate between Excellent and Excellent minus or between Excellent minus and Very Good.

Plus and minus are in the eye of the beholder, but they are the variations which can cause large swings in price. Most collectors will pay a lot more for an excellent plus lure than for an excellent minus.

*Pointers: Marks made by the hook points as they swung around and contacted the paint or varnish at a single point. Basically, a tiny puncture hole in the paint or varnish. One or two are no big deal, but when the surface looks like the face of the moon it's a whole different matter. When describing pointers, it is best to refer to the exact number, depth and size. If the hook penetrated into the wood and created a crater, then that is a worse situation than one which just marks the varnish and doesn't touch the paint.

*Flakes: Usually the result of varnish sticking to something and being pulled off the paint, or an actual varnish chip, but not including the paint color. Varnish flakes are highly subjective, but in a heavily varnished lure like a Heddon, large areas of varnish flakes can and do seriously detract. If you are talking about paint flakes, then the matter is serious since value decreases drastically with any paint loss. Heddon series 00 lures are notorious for flaked varnish due to all the sharp edges. Flaking can usually be expressed in terms such as minor, heavy, light, or minimal, along with the location. Examination of the surface with a 10X lens should show sharp edges of the flakes as opposed to a smooth rounded edge that may be caused by buffing or chemical treatment of the surface.

*Crazing: Also known as "checking," these are age-induced, minor separation fractures of the paint or varnish. Usually, there is a fine quilted pattern to the cracks that look like brickwork under a 10X-magnifying lens. This is not to be confused with deep splits of the paint which are better termed as cracks. In a heavily varnished lure like those produced by Heddon, Pflueger, or South Bend, I personally find it comforting to see crazing because it is indicative of age and quality. It is also extremely difficult to fake subsurface crazing. Terms used to describe crazing would be lightly crazed, heavily crazed, finely crazed, checking, or only obvious with a 10X lens.

*Hook drag: a semi-circular scratch made by a hook into the paint or varnish. If it is into the paint, then it's serious and greatly detracts from the value. If only into the varnish and very, very light, then it's a personal call, but a hook drag takes any lure out of the excellent range. If you see a semi-circular mark on the surface, then you are talking hook drag, and it needs to be described.

*Cracks: Separation of the paint or varnish down to the wood and not normal. Cracks are a source of water getting to the wood resulting in swelling. This causes paint to flake or pop off in large sections. In some cases, cracks in the paint are like crazing where it is a feature of rare, early lures. Esthetically disturbing, but it can verify the origins of the paint on an otherwise excellent condition lure. Repaints typically would not have cracks. Cracked eyes are something that should be noted, but have influence on condition only in the plus and minus department.

*Chip: Paint loss in varying sizes, but usually down to the wood. If you think you have to express the amount of paint loss as a percentage, then forget anything above Very Good for condition. If there is enough paint loss to worry about expressing it as a percentage, then you have something in the "fished" or used department. Paint chips greatly affect the grade of any lure, be it ancient or just old. One may accept a paint chip, but be sure to carefully note its existence when describing a lure with paint.

*Shiny (a.k.a. lipstick shiny, slick, wet): The slick, smooth, non-dull, quality of well preserved paint which has not been subjected to chemicals or intense light. The opposite of the shiny surface would be dull, dirty, and lifeless paint as a result of exposure to chemicals, light, dirt, or use. Degree in either direction determines plus or minus grade.

*Beater: A lure that is in less than average condition. Not collectible, but useful for parts. Many people who do repaints buy beaters to strip and repaint. Some of which are passed off as new lures.

*Rub or scrape: A rub is a smooth, shallow paint or varnish loss via rubbing, not a chip, not a flake, but more than likely due to rubbing against a hard object like a box top or being deeply cleaned. Depending on the extent, a negative factor, but not a big deal if a light, small area. Scrapes are typically deeper, represent greater damage, and often involve cutting the paint.

*Otherwise Excellent: A term used to describe a lure with one small defect that may or may not affect the asking price of a lure. Typically, a single minor pointer, flake, chip, or paint off the belly weight, but not indicative of the whole lure which is "otherwise excellent".

*Touch-up: Typically adding new varnish, gill marks, or an attempt to match the existing antique paint with new paint to hide a defect. A no-no and automatically removes the lure from being a collectible. Touch-ups are easily detectable with a black light that will show the difference in paint age and type. Contrary to the official NFLCC stand on this issue, I personally don't want a touched up lure in my collection at today's prices.

*About Very Good: A term used by some people to avoid listing all the problems on a lure or box.

*Repaint: a lure body that has been repainted by an arts and crafts person. Not something that should be in the tackle collecting scene. If properly marked, a curiosity fit for shadow box displays used by sports bars.

*Hangs well: The ultimate euphemism for "It's only good on one side". Otherwise see beater.

*Whizzed: A term used by coin dealers to describe extensive polishing of a surface. Some people delight in rubbing a lure with cleaner until it is without gill marks or varnish in an attempt to upgrade the value. What they accomplish is destruction of the lure and its value. Cleaning is one thing, polishing to remove the varnish is another. If you remove the varnish on a lure, you have greatly decreased the value, and there is no way it can be considered being anything more than average in grade.

*Worm burn: The result of a plastic worm being left against lure paint for an extended time. Typically, the paint melts and leaves a messy goo where the worm was in contact. Causes a burn-like mark similar to what a cigarette does to Formica or a laminated furniture surface. Typically earns the lure a hangs well grade, but eliminates it from anything above used or beater condition.

*Stupid: What some of us get when we start rationalizing how valuable a ratty old lure is because of its age.

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Michael Echols is a lure collector and an orthodontist living in Ft. Myers, Florida. His website - with many more antique lures - is www.braceface.com/lures.

2002