These two lures both were made by B. F. Bingenheimer of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Bingenheimer made lures starting around 1905 and continued into the teens. The name "Bing's Weedless Minnow" has been attributed to both although another name is "Bing's Weedless Nemahbin Minnow". 'Nemahbin' is a lake in southeastern Wisconsin which was (and still is) a popular vacation area back in the early 1900's.
Bingenheimer was an early innovator and designer of weedless rigs and the hardware configuration on these two lures clearly demonstrates that. Though it doesn't show well in the picture, the bottom lure has three main hooks extending from the middle of the body, one on each side and one on top with a weedguard for each.
The lures all had glass eyes, hand painted gill marks, and came in several colors. Both came in silver, gold, and metallic. The bottom one also came in white (as shown) while the top one came in Green Back and Crack Back as well as the Rainbow color (shown). There are no markings on the lures to identify them. The bottom one measured just over 3" in length while the top one, 4". These have been known to come in sizes up to 6".
These are considered rare lures and have a collector value of $250-$750 range, depending upon condition.
Multi-colored Bing's Minnow in red/yellow/green on gold body
Related Articles / Pages:
Bing's Weedless Minnow on My Bait Shop: The updated version of this page. Updated with new information, pictures and links from our parent website, My Bait Shop.
This 'unknown' lure is approximately 2 1/2" in length, has a single dressed treble hook on the back, and two spinner wire rigs on either side. One spinner blade is missing but the other is a marked Pflueger Bulldog spinner. Note the unusual line tie on the front. The owner believes it may be a Pflueger not only due to the presence of the spinner but also the color which was typical for that company.
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