How can you tell how old a Bagley DB3 is?

Does the lip come straight out of the front of the bait with very little angle, and have a lead slug built into the line-tie? 

If so, it's the original early version. 

If it has a more angled "factory" style lip (with a built-in line-tie) it's the later version introduced in the early 80's. 

Past that, I don't know. 

I have some that don't have the lead in the bill. So I assume they were made after 1980. I just saw this one going for over $200 on eBay and wondered how old it was. Not like I would pay that for it.

http://cgi.ebay.com/BAGLEYS-DB-3-BALSA-WOOD-BAGLEY-DB3-CRANKBAIT-LURE-O72_W0QQitemZ250542840022QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3a558458d6

That's definitely not an old original......my guess is it's just some rare color, and the guy's either using a bud to run up the bid, or it's just those wacky Bagley collectors. 

Either way - I don't get it.  80's version DB3's are constantly on eBay.   

http://www.bagleybait.com/5.html

You can tell by the hardware. Original Bagleys have brass wire. The company changed because of the corrosive factor and many anglers changed lures because of it. Old guys who liked the brass wire started collecting them and winning tournaments on them. Now the newer baits have the same brass hardware.

(brass 70's model)

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-BAGLEY-Lure-MINT-on-CARD-SDKB1-LSB-Brass_W0QQitemZ170416896299QQcategoryZ794QQcmdZViewItem

(80's model)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?VISuperSize&item=280435047522

(Newer package)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?VISuperSize&item=130350299037

FWIW, the older Bagley DB3's are very inconsistent from bait to bait, just like the older Poe's.   

One bait may be noticeably different in size compared to the other. 

The biggest difference in action from the old baits to the new came from the redesign of lip angles and line-tie location, IMO.  The brass line-tie that a lot of Bagley collectors tout as "better" I don't think had anything to do with it.....but moving it's location DID. 

If you look at really old B series cranks, the line-tie comes straight out of the nose.....during the redesign it was dropped down closer to the lip, which significantly WIDENED the action.  A "New Original" bait is nothing at all like the old ones - - just another marketing scheme.   

The reason that bait is so expensive is the discontinued color.  Bagley collectors are a little nuts, and they will pay big bucks for patterns that the Bagley Collector Catalog lists as rare. They have a scale from 1-10, 10 being the most rare... There are a few 10s that have gone for over a thousand on ebay before...

The reason that bait is so expensive is the discontinued color. Bagley collectors are a little nuts, and they will pay big bucks for patterns that the Bagley Collector Catalog lists as rare. They have a scale from 1-10, 10 being the most rare... There are a few 10s that have gone for over a thousand on ebay before...

I will never understand why someone would pay that much money for a single bait. I don't care how much it's worth or what the reason is, no bait should cost $1000. Those people are insane to pay that much for a bait.

The reason that bait is so expensive is the discontinued color. Bagley collectors are a little nuts, and they will pay big bucks for patterns that the Bagley Collector Catalog lists as rare. They have a scale from 1-10, 10 being the most rare... There are a few 10s that have gone for over a thousand on ebay before...

I will never understand why someone would pay that much money for a single bait. I don't care how much it's worth or what the reason is, no bait should cost $1000. Those people are insane to pay that much for a bait.

To some this is art, and that is subjective.