Any information regarding this Bear Polar Longbow? For example, the age and value. This was my dad's bow. I believe it at least 1962. Someone elsewhere seemed to think was a recurve bow. I am not sure how/why. A friend has offered to buy it. So was I was looking for a reasonable value. Of course, the value is in the eye of the beholder. Attached are some pictures. Thanks.
Nice old early Bear.
Looks in decent shape if there are no delaminations.
Stress lines along the length of the bow are common and generally not a worry.
Leather grip is shot, but that's expected for an early 60s bow.
I don't value bows without a complete inspection and even then it's a guess and highly dependent on who's looking for what you have at the moment you're selling it.
If you google search 'Bear Polar for sale' you'll no doubt pull up several examples - some of which will closely match your model. Keep in mind that Bear built some form of 'Polar' for years.
Good luck with it!
AJ
1954/55 somewhere in that vicinity.....
The bow appears to be in fairly decent condition for it's age. Go to the online auction and look for past sales to get an idea of value. Not a high valued bow but a nice Bear none the less.
I think with the dual shelf, 64" length, red glass, single white tip overlays and silkscreens make it a 1956. Not sure on price but good place to find recent sales is to search sold listings on the online auction site.
I agree with Mikenmn. late 1956. It's what's known as a semi-recurve target bow. Not telling you what to do with your bow or anything but... I would never throw any of my bows on cement or pavement.
In my humble opinion...
There are three important values for a bow:
1. Useful value... what value does the bow have as a shooter;
2. Collectors value... what is the bow worth on the collectors market,
3. Eccentric value... what is it worth to the owner as a keepsake for
various reasons.
If this was my fathers bow, there is not a price that could make me sell it.
to me it is a family heirloom. It is a connection to him from the past in his younger years. To each his own though... just make sure you will not regret the sale in the future...
My father was not into archery. If he had been, I would love to have his original bow as a keepsake. But that's just me...