POTSDAM, N.Y. — Vintage fishing lures, like all collectible consumer goods, only become more valuable with the presence of original packaging. That was certainly the case November 3 at Blanchards Auction Service in its Fishing Tackle and Angling Auction held in conjunction with Lang’s Fishing Tackle Auction Company. Complete results are available at LiveAuctioneers.

The sale’s top lot was a Heddon 409p ice fish decoy. Founded in 1898 in Dowagiac, Michigan, Heddon is the oldest continuously operating fishing lure company in the world. Presenting with light wear and minor flaking to the decoration, the lure was accompanied by its rarely seen packaging, sending online bidders into a frenzy, blowing out the $400-$600 estimate to hammer at $6,250 ($7,687 with buyer’s premium).

Just behind it in the results tally was another Heddon lure, the Trout-Size Coast Minnow ‘Special.’ Essentially new in an intact but somewhat dirty box, and with an excellent fold-out insert sheet showing other products, it was only the second such lure to ever be offered by Lang’s, and, according to the lot notes, it was “in far better condition” than the one in the prior sale. Estimated at $500-$700, bidders jumped from a $1,500 opener in $100 increments all the way to a close at $5,500 ($6,765 with buyer’s premium).

Founded in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1897, Shakespeare is one of America’s best-known fishing brands, having pioneered the fish-line reel that would revolutionize sport fishing worldwide. This ‘black picture box’ Sure Lure Bait by Shakespeare was in very good condition, but the presence of the almost never-seen box prompted bidders to push the hammer price to $5,250 ($6,457 with buyer’s premium) against an estimate of $500-$700.