Mitchell 301 in Red crdboard box marked 301 LH

[harvey]

How uncommon is a red cardboard box for the left handed Mitchell 301 and the box is marked for that reel.

[piscesman]

Welcome to the site harvey... As I understand it left-hand reels, right-hand crank were made around 10% of the "right-hand" reels. Here is an example. Full bail 300 production from approx. 1951-1986 was 13,128,960. Whereas the 301 for same years was 1,335,253. As you can see much lower numbers made. Now remember these are approx., but you get the picture. Your reel in the red box were made in less quantities. They are harder to acquire and do command higher prices than the 300 in blue boxes. Mike DiMattio produced an invaluable book on Mitchell boxes through the years. The blue and red full bail boxes were made from 1953-1959. Relatively a short time span but Mitchell was kicking into high gear as their reels were becoming more popular. Since the red boxes were 10% of blue boxes, they are much scarcer. Now condition plays a huge factor in value if you are considering selling it. If you could post pictures here 700-800 pixels we could help you even further. Hope this helps and congratulations on your find. I have several and the red box is very striking.

On a side note, you never mentioned if your reel is full or 1/2 bail. That changes some things a little.

Kim

[GreatLaker]

harvey,

Well Kim has posted what I consider an excellent reply to your question and then some. We, of course, would love to see your reel and box as photos of them are seldom posted now days.

As you probably know Mitchell 301 boxes evolved over time meaning that subtle changes occurred. Depending on when your reel and box were made, and what features they have, might make all the difference to many collectors which translate into higher value. Perhaps this might be another good reason to post more photographs of your reel and box.
Kind Regards,
Bill

[harvey]

How do I post pictures? I am not very computer savy. Regards, Harvey Musselman

[Ted Lanham]

harvey,

Check your mail. You can send the picture to me and I'll post it for you.

Regards,
Ted Lanham

[GreatLaker]

harvey,

Click on the link to see how to post photos.

https://mitchellreelmuseum.com/forum/vi ... 7eeb6ab523

Kind Regards,
Bill

[JohnEboy]

Welcome to the site harvey... As I understand it left-hand reels, right-hand crank were made around 10% of the "right-hand" reels. Here is an example. Full bail 300 production from approx. 1951-1986 was 13,128,960. Whereas the 301 for same years was 1,335,253. As you can see much lower numbers made. Now remember these are approx., but you get the picture. Your reel in the red box were made in less quantities. They are harder to acquire and do command higher prices than the 300 in blue boxes. Mike DiMattio produced an invaluable book on Mitchell boxes through the years. The blue and red full bail boxes were made from 1953-1959. Relatively a short time span but Mitchell was kicking into high gear as their reels were becoming more popular. Since the red boxes were 10% of blue boxes, they are much scarcer. Now condition plays a huge factor in value if you are considering selling it. If you could post pictures here 700-800 pixels we could help you even further. Hope this helps and congratulations on your find. I have several and the red box is very striking.

On a side note, you never mentioned if your reel is full or 1/2 bail. That changes some things a little.

Kim

Thanks for sharing this , I didnt know much about boxes so useful to know .
John

[Ted Lanham]

Mates,
Here are Harvey's pictures. He said the serial number is 1167677.
Enjoy.

Ted

[Ted Lanham]

More of harvey's pics.
Ted

[GreatLaker]

harvey and Ted,
Wow, I am so glad you were able to get the photos sorted and posted, they are spectacular!
What a beautiful box and in very good condition, many a collector would love to have that treasure.

Ted, very kind of you to help with the photos, we are so lucky to have you here.

harvey,
If you would like to post any more photos of your box showing it without the reel or spool tub, and of the bottom of the box tray, I'm sure they would be enthusiastically received by all collectors.

Kind Regards,
Bill

[piscesman]

WOW, Great pictures!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for posting them. I looked in my Mitchell 300 Boxes Book by Mike DiMattio and compared your box labeled front with his findings. He has it 1st issue, 4th label, fall 1957. What is they serial number of your reel? 7 digits? Starting with 1?
Kim

[harvey]

The Serial# is 1167677. Regards, Harvey Musselman

[piscesman]

Harvey, that falls in line with Mike's findings. I checked took pictures of my red boxed Mitchells and will post them here.
Kim

[piscesman]

Well, I'm going to try and upload some red boxed reels.
Kim

IMG_20221011_185955875_copy_713x572.jpg (146.27 KiB) Viewed 16369 times

[piscesman]

Finally, home from work. Pics are from my phone that I have an app to downsize pixels. Not including Saltwater Reel top reel is as Mike has in his book, 1st issue, 2nd label fall of 1955. Next picture 2nd issue, last (8th) label spring 1959. The "Salt Water" reel appears to be spring 1959, 2nd issue, last 8th label (spring) 1959.
Kim

[JohnEboy]

Presumably there are other means of identifying boxes , like construction and wording etc ? We dont have the Garcia labels on early Mitchell boses in the UK .

John

[piscesman]

There may be other ways to identify boxes. If you look at the front of the boxes in the pictures, they are not all the same. Different printing blotched out letters or numbers mean different years of release. For instance, the 1st pictures here has a price on the box of $32.50. My picture has it at $29.75, a price drop. Surely not made the same year. Like anything else, manufactures will try and improve their "stuff" for better or worst throughout the year.
Kim

[JohnEboy]

There may be other ways to identify boxes. If you look at the front of the boxes in the pictures, they are not all the same. Different printing blotched out letters or numbers mean different years of release. For instance, the 1st pictures here has a price on the box of $32.50. My picture has it at $29.75, a price drop. Surely not made the same year. Like anything else, manufactures will try and improve their "stuff" for better or worst throughout the year.
Kim

Thanks Kim
I only have one red box , bit yes I would imagine they would have had subtle changed just as the blue boxes did .

The date for Harveys box interested me from the perspective of date , it places his reel/box at 1957 , from the reels serial number it would be placed at 1956 , but what really interested me was the upside down Mitchell 301 engraved on the cover plate . I would have thought this quite late for a '56 or '57 reel . My own red box 301 would be dated 1955 from serial and has the engraving the "normal" way .

John

[Bailarm]

Like you John, I associate the 'upside down' Mitchell 301 with an earlier year and the yellow and black 'rocker' Garcia sticker with 1955 and a 6 digit serial number.

[JohnEboy]

Like you John, I associate the 'upside down' Mitchell 301 with an earlier year and the yellow and black 'rocker' Garcia sticker with 1955 and a 6 digit serial number.

Thanks Nobby , it does seem quite curious .

John