The President was Kalamazoo's everyman level-wind casting reel, and 1970 is its model number, not the year it was made.
Like most mid-century casting reels, a President that turns stiffly usually needs cleaning and fresh oil before anything else.
Price range is INFERRED from completed eBay listings; verify against current sold comps before bidding.
About 52 Presidents are listed, none for parts, and most ask $25–50 delivered, so this is a buyer's market. The model letters stamped on the reel (FK, GD, FH and others) date it, and FK reels are the cheapest here at about $25 delivered. Extras move the price: a 1970A with box and manual asks $47 and a tested, boxed reel $62, while the green 1970A Model FH, the color collectors look for, is only $27. Two plain reels at $140–154 are the warning. On any President, check that the handle knob doesn't spin loose on its stem. Fishers should buy a $25 FK; collectors, the green FH.
Delivered prices include shipping as eBay quoted it to a US address on Oct 1, 2026. Many sellers charge by distance, so your total may differ — eBay shows your exact total before you buy.
A Model FK at $24.95 with free shipping, the lowest delivered total in this snapshot and right at the bottom of the $25–50 band, from a 100% seller. The title makes no working claim, so ask the seller to turn the handle and confirm the spool runs freely and the levelwind tracks before buying.
Vintage Shakespeare President 1970 Model FK Fishing Reel
A 1970A with its box and manual at $46.60 delivered ($40 plus $6.60), inside the $25–50 band, with Best Offer open. The paperwork usually costs extra on its own, so this is the most reel for the money here. The title makes no working claim: ask whether the handle turns smoothly and the levelwind tracks.
Vintage Shakespeare President 1970A Casting Fishing Reel w/ Box & Manual
This seller tests and tags each reel, and this one comes boxed with extras, so you know its condition before it ships. At $61.95 delivered, about $12 over the band, you're paying for a tested reel with documentation rather than a guess. Ask what the 'plus' in the title includes.
VINTAGE SHAKESPEARE PRESIDENT 1970 REEL SEE REEL TAG W BOX PLUS
The green 1970A Model FH, the color collectors seek, at $26.99 delivered with Best Offer from a 99.9% seller: bottom-of-band money for the most sought version here. Check that the handle knob is tight on its stem and the paint isn't heavily worn, since condition drives what a green FH is worth.
Vintage Antique Green Shakespeare President No.1970A Model FH Casting Reel
Snapshot captured — listings may have ended
Delivered prices include shipping as eBay quoted it to a US address on Oct 1, 2026. Many sellers charge by distance, so your total may differ — eBay shows your exact total before you buy.
UsedVintage Shakespeare President 1970 Model FK Fishing Reel
$24.95 · free shipping
Lowest total here at $24.95 with free shipping, but no condition claim; ask for a quick function check.
changinghands13
100% positive from 1.6K ratings
UsedVintage Shakespeare President 1970A Casting Fishing Reel w/ Box & Manual
$40.00 + $6.60 shipping
This seller takes offers, and sellers often accept less than the asking price.
Fine if you might miss it? Send an offer first. Someone else can still buy it while you wait for a reply.
Want it for sure? Use Buy It Now.
1970A with box and manual at $46.60, inside the band: the fairest boxed President here.
colab713
100% positive from 43 ratings
UsedVINTAGE SHAKESPEARE PRESIDENT 1970 REEL SEE REEL TAG W BOX PLUS
$49.95 + $12.00 shipping
Tested and tagged by the seller, boxed; you pay about $12 over the band for that certainty.
dano1155
99.9% positive
UsedVintage Antique Green Shakespeare President No.1970A Model FH Casting Reel
$20.99 + $6.00 shipping
This seller takes offers, and sellers often accept less than the asking price.
Fine if you might miss it? Send an offer first. Someone else can still buy it while you wait for a reply.
Want it for sure? Use Buy It Now.
The green 1970A Model FH at $26.99 delivered, a collector color at an everyday price.
davedrop70
99.9% positive
UsedVintage Shakespeare President No. 1970 Model FK Baitcasting Reel USA
$16.14 + $9.78 shipping
Model FK at $25.92 delivered, a dollar over the free-shipping FK; choose between the two on photos.
route66tradinghouse
99.9% positive
UsedVintage Shakespeare President 1970A Direct Reels Reel
$130.00 + $10.00 shipping
This seller takes offers, and sellers often accept less than the asking price.
Fine if you might miss it? Send an offer first. Someone else can still buy it while you wait for a reply.
Want it for sure? Use Buy It Now.
A 1970A at $140 delivered with nothing listed to justify nearly three times the band's top.
lukolay0
100% positive from 98 ratings
UsedShakespeare President 1970 USA Fishing Reel Used Vintage Fishing Tackle
$126.02 + $28.00 shipping
This seller takes offers, and sellers often accept less than the asking price.
Fine if you might miss it? Send an offer first. Someone else can still buy it while you wait for a reply.
Want it for sure? Use Buy It Now.
$154.02 delivered, including $28 shipping, about three times the band's top for an undescribed reel.
nogi-japan
99.6% positive from 1.5K ratings
Prices and availability change daily. The full, current search on eBay shows every matching listing, including new ones since Oct 1, 2026.
See all current listings on eBay ⟶The President was Kalamazoo's everyman level-wind casting reel, and 1970 is its model number, not the year it was made. Shakespeare stamped a two-letter code on its reels from the late 1920s until the late 1970s, and that code dates the start of a production run rather than the day an individual reel was built, so the same code can appear on reels sold over several years.
Codes seen on Presidents include GE, GD and FK, which collector date-code lists put at 1946, 1947 and 1951, so most surviving reels are from the 1940s and 1950s; check the code on a specific reel against a Shakespeare date-code reference. Our latest snapshot found about 52 listings, mostly at $25 to $50 delivered.
The green 1970A Model FH is often called rare, yet several were listed under $35. Boxed reels with the leather pouch and papers are worth a modest premium, not the $100-plus some sellers ask.
