Antique lure sells for world-record $101,200 - Major League Fishing

Antique lure sells for world-record $101,200

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The 1859 "Giant" Haskell minnow, bought by lure collector Tracey Shirey, sold at auction for a world-record $101,200. Photo by Lang's Auction.
November 18, 2003 • MLF • Archives

Riley Haskell would be shocked if he knew how famous his fishing lures have become. In 1859, the gunsmith from Painesville, Ohio, made a 10-inch, hollow-bodied, copper minnow. Showing detail down to the scales, the lure is believed to be one-of-a-kind.

At a Nov. 8 auction in Boxborough, Mass., the minnow lure sold for a staggering $101,200. At that price, the lure is the highest-priced fishing-related collectible to be sold at an auction.

Who was the high bidder?

Lure collector Tracey Shirey of South Carolina beat out seven other serious bidders to claim the “Giant” Haskell minnow. Shirey also won the bid for a smaller version of the minnow, the “Baby” Haskell, with a bid of $19,250.

About a dozen of Haskell’s smaller minnow lures are known to exist.

– Compiled by FLW Outdoors staff