Sport King Bamboo fly rod

Question
Joe,
    I have a 8 1/2 foot bamboo Sport King.  I know it was sold at Montgomery Wards.  There's a "m/27" hand printed on it.  Can you tell me what this means?  The rod appears to be in very good shape with the Sport King sticker very visible, and the rod is made out of tonkin cane. could you ball park the value?  Thanks.

Answer
Hi Lew,

I've seen the M/27 marking before and always assumed it was a model designation put on by the rod maker to assure that the rod was wrapped and got the proper decals for a Wards rod.  These were made by one of the mass production houses (possibly H-I) and this would tell the folks down the line the guide positioning, thread colors and decals to be used.

Value in Very Good condition would be in the $70-$100 range.

Thanks,  Joe