RARE MAGLITES

[Guitar Guy]

A couple more shots. The Vari and a couple other 3Ds. I bought the red one for my Dad as a Christmas gift in 1990, and have an interesting story about that one for later.

My midnight blue 4D ... my camera and the sky made it look lighter than it really is.

A Magcharger duty light that I got from a fellow who was a Pittsburgh, PA city police officer from 1990 - 2015, a motorcycle cop for some of that time. It's pretty banged up. He had another that he was keeping that he said he had used to break out the window of an overturned minivan to save some children. I told him to hang that one on the wall of his den to show his grandkids. I also got his early 90s "around the house" 3C, not pictured.

JT

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[d13avo]

Very interesting about the Sarajevo light. A lot has happened in that region.

Here is my Vari-Beam. It came from the original owner in Roseville, CA, and was purchased in Chico, CA for him by his wife. He liked it so well that he just kept it around the house instead of taking it to work at the electric company, as she had intended.

According to Liftd, it is the "intermediate" model from 1983, when Mag started the Vari-Beam numbers over, and that's why it has the low serial number. I like the straight grip lines, a slight variation from the diamond pattern.

JT

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That’s one nice light.

 

[willrx]

I agree!! Outdoor lighting is amazing [emoji6]

 

[Guitar Guy]

Thanks! Yes, outdoor overcast days are best for photos.

Was raining today, but I got the Harley light. I got the t shirt when I rode the Dragon, Blue Ridge Parkway, and Smoky Mt. Natl. Park about 2 weeks before the devastating forest fires broke out in Oct. 2016.

Serial# D4009162642. Maybe 1990/ 91. It has the D number, but no panther on the bezel.

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[LiftdT4R]

Very nice!! I like how Mag used to do the laser etched logos on the head as well as on the body.

 

[LiftdT4R]

I'm not a big collector of Mini Mags because there are just sooooo many varieties but I did pick up a couple cool ones recently I thought I'd share. I think one has been see before in the Mini Maglites collection thread but I don't think the other one has.

The first is a Marlboro Adventure Team Mini Maglite. This was only available from the Marlboro Miles catalog around 2000. Cigarette advertising in general is almost non-existent and the reward coupons on the side of the packs that could be exchanged for merchandise were outlawed a few years back. Pretty neat light. I think there was one with a gecko on it also.

This one is pretty unique. It's a gray hard anodized with die cut decals just like the Ferrari light except this one was done for Diet Coke. I'm not sure if these were done for a giveaway or were done for just a few employees but this is the only one I've ever seen.

 

[willrx]

Wow [emoji50] I’ve never seen either of those. I wonder how are the decals applied?

 

[LiftdT4R]

The Marlboro one appears to be screen printed but the Diet Coke one looks like it is a die cut decal so it's just adhesive that holds it on. Maglite did laser etching from 1989 on but laser etching only provides white. In the mid 90s Maglite started trying out the laser cut decals and I'm guessing as the technology got better they went to screen printing. The early NASCAR lights has die cut stickers but the later ones were screen printed.

I have a few more lights to share too, some full sized ones, that I haven't ever seen before I'm just trying to research them out a little more.

 

[willrx]

Wow, that’s really interesting. Can’t wait to see what else you’ve uncovered [emoji1373]

 

[turbodog]

...

The first is a Marlboro Adventure Team Mini Maglite. This was only available from the Marlboro Miles catalog around 2000. Cigarette advertising in general is almost non-existent and the reward coupons on the side of the packs that could be exchanged for merchandise were outlawed a few years back. Pretty neat light. I think there was one with a gecko on it also.

...

I can confirm the gecko light. A friend cut grass commercially back then, and he would pickup all the cig wrappers beforehand. He got at least one of those lights.

 

[sizzlechest]

Here's a couple of my Maserati lights too!

NEVER seen the orange or black Ferrari lights or maserati light b4.....

 

[LiftdT4R]

I hadn't seen them before I got them either. I was told they came with very exclusive cars. The black supposedly came with the Enzo. I'm not sure on the red but the grey is the run of the mill one if there is such a thing. I was actually able to get 2 reds and 2 greys. I think you have some really interesting Mags if I remember right so if you're interested in trading please let me know.

I'm also in the process of restoring another 7 cell but this time it's even rarer than the 7C. It's a 7D. 7Ds were only made from 1979 to around the middle of 1982 and only numbered about 20,000 total where the 7Cs were made until 1989 and numbered about 40,000. The 7Ds are literally twice as rare than the 7Cs if not rarer because they were so much older.

This 7D happens to be from 1979, Maglite's first year of production. Like other 1979 lights it has the lower focus grip on the head, a "Paten Pending" stamp opposite the serial, and the large bulbous switch cover.

My stock of the 1979 switch covers is nearly depleted. I got a whole bunch from an old dealer but I've restored a few of these 1979 lights now so I'm just about out. Maglite hasn't produced them in years so I'm looking to have some produced myself. If anyone knows a good lead on this please let me know. I've searched high and low and no one currently makes a similar cover.

This light is also a very low, 4,303 serial. It's the lowest serial 7D I've seen although I have seen a few dozen lower serials on D cells. The light has been well used over the years and came in non-working. It looks like no less than 4 sets of batteries have corroded in it because there is a ton of alkaline caked in the barrel. The switch has been replaced with the 1989+ plastic retaining ring replacement as well as the reflector and lens. If you want to know what the original one looked like check out my blog post on the NIB 1979 6D I have: http://maglitehistory.blogspot.com/2017/08/1979-6d-oldest-maglite.html

I much prefer the lights with all of their original pieces and I do have some very very old NOS replacement parts but not enough to make this light all original again. I'll likely re-use the parts that came with it because they've seen some action. Over the years, likely after one of the battery leaks, someone replaced the tail cap too with a lanyard ring style one. You can see the difference in the fading of the anodizing. These old lights fade into some awesome colors. This one has a nice deep purple.

I'll post some pics once I get her all cleaned out and lit again. This will be the 2nd 7D I've restored so I'm pretty excited!

 

[Guitar Guy]

Very cool 7D. The stories I bet it could tell.

I like when they fade to the purple tint.:twothumbs

JT

 

[LiftdT4R]

Very cool 7D. The stories I bet it could tell.

I like when they fade to the purple tint.:twothumbs

JT

I have a lot of lights I wish I knew the story on! This one has some miles on it. One of the 7Ds I bought came from the midwest. The owner told me his father used it to hunt racoons because it was so bright for it's time and would run 16 hours on fresh batteries. If you needed a light that would get you through the whole night in 1982 and didn't mind shelling out today's equivalent of $150 this was it.

 

[din107]

Hi from Russia. Recently began t collect non-letter C maglites. Here is 2/5/6C. I hope that I`ll find 3C and 4C, but find 7C in Russia is impossible.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1zrVfkr3gWMZtmN2Xdj0bgLAhKGYfFukk
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ENVHrzTSbEJpeqvVFqhKdF7-BS3KXrnv

 

[LiftdT4R]

Hi from Russia. Recently began t collect non-letter C maglites. Here is 2/5/6C. I hope that I`ll find 3C and 4C, but find 7C in Russia is impossible.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1zrVfkr3gWMZtmN2Xdj0bgLAhKGYfFukk
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ENVHrzTSbEJpeqvVFqhKdF7-BS3KXrnv

Very nice! Is it difficult to get Maglites in Russia? In some places in Europe it seems likes the import taxes are very high.

 

[din107]

Very nice! Is it difficult to get Maglites in Russia? In some places in Europe it seems likes the import taxes are very high.

5C and 6C was looking for a long time. But non-letters 2/3/4C maglites are rare too.
Now in Russia you can buy new maglites (new style) very easy, especially in Moscow, for example, incandescent maglites 2C/3C/4C=19$, 2D/3D=19$, 4D=21$, 5D=23$, 6D=35$.

 

[Guitar Guy]

Hi din. Those are great looking C Mags. Thanks for sharing.

I'm a new collector also, and recently took a liking to the C lights. I also haven't found a 5 or 7 yet, but they turn up occasionally.

Good luck. Lots of nice folks and good info on cpf.

JT

 

[willrx]

Rare to me. First time seeing this one-I pounced!

 

[bykfixer]

SEMPER FI

Score of the year, there.