RARE MAGLITES
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I don't know why the background colour changed but the bottom photo is quite close to how they appear to the naked eye
royal blue minimag on the left 2D midnight blue and minimag midnight blue on the right
Very cool and thanks for the pics! Lol, these colors can drive me crazy sometimes especially when looking for them on ebay. I've noticed that Gray is sometimes listed as Pewter too and I wasn't sure if that's a variant of the Pewter or if the package may have been mis-labelled. The NIB Pewter I have is the washed out Copper version.
This is my newest addition to my collection I mentioned last week. There's not much I get in the way of surprises any more but this one sure was. Finishes on the early 1979 to 1986 lights are very tough to come by. Up until I found this one I didn't think early C cells had any finish options other than Vari-Beams even though both blue and red are listed on early package inserts. Finally after ~10 years of collecting I ran across an early C cell finish! It's not listed on any of the early package inserts which still leads me to believe there wasn't likely an early red or blue C cell made. This light is a 3C, 38,410 serial in Silver which puts it at about 1983. It has the early stamped TM bezel and the barrel is stamped "Patented Made in U.S.A.".
The other big surprise on this light is the extended tail cap. C cells in this range are only supposed to have the flat end cap as shown on the right below. Even later C cells have a different style extended end cap which is shown on the left below. So it's not like this one has an end cap that was swapped with a later light. The knurling matches the knurling on flat end caps from around that time so I don't believe it's from another light either.
Through my contacts from the early days of Mag I am pretty sure this is an early prototype or trial run extended cap. This was likely done to test the tooling required to produce this end cap and to test the marketability of it. A handful of these were likely produced as a test run and then sent to retailers once the quality was determined to be acceptable. That makes sense because the prior owner lived in Michigan and he was the original owner who remembered purchasing it off the shelf at a sporting goods store locally in the early 1980s. I also believe this because I know this to be the case with some other lights as well. I have an early Camo finish that was a test run as well as some oddball finishes from 1979 too. Anyway, hope y'all enjoyed!
The other big surprise on this light is the extended tail cap. C cells in this range are only supposed to have the flat end cap as shown on the right below. Even later C cells have a different style extended end cap which is shown on the left below. So it's not like this one has an end cap that was swapped with a later light. The knurling matches the knurling on flat end caps from around that time so I don't believe it's from another light either.
Through my contacts from the early days of Mag I am pretty sure this is an early prototype or trial run extended cap. This was likely done to test the tooling required to produce this end cap and to test the marketability of it. A handful of these were likely produced as a test run and then sent to retailers once the quality was determined to be acceptable. That makes sense because the prior owner lived in Michigan and he was the original owner who remembered purchasing it off the shelf at a sporting goods store locally in the early 1980s. I also believe this because I know this to be the case with some other lights as well. I have an early Camo finish that was a test run as well as some oddball finishes from 1979 too. Anyway, hope y'all enjoyed!
Here are a couple more lights I picked up recently that have a great story behind them! They were both purchased by a wealthy Arkansas cotton farmer around 1983. He bought them from a local hardware store that had Vari-Beam models for sale. I have a big write up on my blog about Vari-Beams: http://maglitehistory.blogspot.com/2017/06/vari-beams.html He purchased the 2C first and admired the quality and durability but found the run time wasn't enough for his liking (~4 hours). He shelved it, luckily without batteries, and bought a 4D from the same store. The 2C appears as brand new today.
The 4D is a "Dealer Vari-Beam" model. Mag Instrument never made these in silver and black but some dealers would take a slow selling blue model and swap the end cap and bezel with a standard Mag and then put the left over parts in their service kits. The serial number is spot on with the vintage of the light so that's how you can tell it's a dealer and not a buyer that did the swap. The 4D is used but not abused. It has the earlier style switch with the bare copper internals and not the nickel plated like the later ones so it had some pretty heavy corrosion that was preventing the light form working. I tore down everything and cleaned up all of the bare copper internals with vinegar. It works as good as new now!
The C cell Vari-Beams are much rarer but I already have one so I may sell of trade this 2C at a later time. I have a 2C and 3D "Dealer Vari-Beams" (black/silver) so I'll likely hang onto this as I'd like to have one of each model one day.
The 4D is a "Dealer Vari-Beam" model. Mag Instrument never made these in silver and black but some dealers would take a slow selling blue model and swap the end cap and bezel with a standard Mag and then put the left over parts in their service kits. The serial number is spot on with the vintage of the light so that's how you can tell it's a dealer and not a buyer that did the swap. The 4D is used but not abused. It has the earlier style switch with the bare copper internals and not the nickel plated like the later ones so it had some pretty heavy corrosion that was preventing the light form working. I tore down everything and cleaned up all of the bare copper internals with vinegar. It works as good as new now!
The C cell Vari-Beams are much rarer but I already have one so I may sell of trade this 2C at a later time. I have a 2C and 3D "Dealer Vari-Beams" (black/silver) so I'll likely hang onto this as I'd like to have one of each model one day.
That 2-c is a beauty.
Here's one more I recently picked up. It's a 6C but an early style one with the flat end cap. These were made from 1981 to about 1985 or so before they switched to the extended end cap and the bezel was updated. This one came from a Washington Sate Trooper who carried it regularly on duty in the early 80s. I got it for a good price since it didn't work and it just needed some corrosion cleaned off of the switch and the bulb replaced.
These early flat end cap Cs are very tough to find and I was working to complete my early C cell collection for a while before I found this 6C. Here's a pic of a full line of flat end cap Cs from a 2C through 7C. I actually have 2 flat end cap 7Cs and see them more often than the 5 or 6Cs.
These early flat end cap Cs are very tough to find and I was working to complete my early C cell collection for a while before I found this 6C. Here's a pic of a full line of flat end cap Cs from a 2C through 7C. I actually have 2 flat end cap 7Cs and see them more often than the 5 or 6Cs.
I bet the 6C could tell some stories... Love the last picture. :thumbsup:
~ Chance
~ Chance
4DMag-Lite
Newly Enlightened
Here a few from my collection that are somewhat collectible.
I know the Black Mini Mag isn't all that rare, however it is one of the earlier ones from 1984.
AAMiniMags
I know the Black Mini Mag isn't all that rare, however it is one of the earlier ones from 1984.
AAMiniMagsVery cool! The well used ones are always my favorites. Did you have the black 1984 Mini Mag since new or do ya know the story behind it? I got mine from a Chicago cop and he had some great stories. I still use it to this day. I only wish they would have used an orange peel reflector as they work much better as a small flood light.
4DMag-Lite
Newly Enlightened
The black one I just won in an auction on eBay. Not sure the story behind it, I'm going to reach out to the seller and see if there is one. I did come with the belt holder that looks just about as old as the light. I have a thing for well used lights as well.
The bush light I picked up from you lol.
carnage
Enlightened
Here's one from about a year or so ago I think I posted before. My collection has grown since then but not a whole lot. There are others here with much larger collections too. I always aspire to have a collection as awesome as ABTOMAT's one day. His couch pic is legendary!
How long did it take you to accumulate your collection?
While neither one is unobtainable-rare. Both are awesome! 
~ Chance
~ Chance
Lol, that's awesome! I know the story then! They came from an estate sale in Minnesota from a GHWB supporter.
FREAKING COOL!!!
That's a first for me! I like it...
Thanks! Even after collecting for so long I still find some cool stuff.
I've been collecting since 2005 but I really became more interested and started buying more around 2010. I have about that many Maglites again but they are more common or doubles so I didn't take a pic of them.
While neither one is unobtainable-rare. Both are awesome!
~ Chance
Nice! Adventure Sport makes some nice stuff! I have a couple of their old single LED setups. I'm bummed Matt doesn't make them anymore but he still sells the heat sinks. I've been mulling over picking up one of his sinks and dropping my own LED and driver in it. It takes a standard 17mm driver and 10mm LED board so there are a lot of options. I really want a 3 mode warm or neutral LED option and no one makes one. :-(
Is the mini mag from KYfishguy?
Nice triples Chauncey they look great. Really like your red minimag.
Nice minimags, 4DMag-Lite those old 1984 mags are not that common.
I think if you contact Matt through his website He will make the old ASX70 for you, or whatever LED you want, plus he has the copper heat sinks which take 16mm rounded stars and 17mm driver.
Nice minimags, 4DMag-Lite those old 1984 mags are not that common.
I think if you contact Matt through his website He will make the old ASX70 for you, or whatever LED you want, plus he has the copper heat sinks which take 16mm rounded stars and 17mm driver.
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