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Can somebody identify this bike?

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Jeff_L

On Training Wheels
Hi all,

I'm new, and I'm looking for some information on my late wife's bike. This was given to her back in the middle '50s when she was a young girl by her sister and two brothers. She was told it was the most expensive bike Sears had at the time. I've looked high and low on the internet and haven't been able to find one exactly like it. It is a J.C. Higgins 26-inch girls European-style bike, made in Austria. The original "General Instructions" that came with it list 503.46320 and 503.45330 models, but the number stamped into the bottom the frame is 503 46 930. (Whenever I try to enter that number into a Google search all I get are guns?)

Here are (I hope) some pictures of the bike.
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Whew - that's a lot of pictures.

This was obviously a very fancy bike for the day. There is chrome everywhere - fenders, fender braces, tire pump (which still works),even the coil springs at the back of the seat are chrome. Speaking of the seat, it is white leather over a series of more coils, shown in picture 10. No hard metal pan to bruise a little princess' butt - no sir-ree. She told me once that when she got it, even the tires were blue to match the paint. The sheathing around the cables is white. The generator has to be a factory-installed item, given the flared area in the front fender to accommodate where it runs against the tire. I don't know if the mirror is original or not, but I'd bet it is. The biggest difference I see between this bike and the ones I've found on the 'net is the full wrap-around chain guard. I don't believe this is a common item.

The shifter is marked H - N -L, but the hub shows it's a three speed. I've never ridden it, so I don't know for sure.

As the pictures indicate, it has been ridden, and it's had its share of bumps and bruises over the years. There is paint rubbed off the luggage rack from a wicker basket that she had fastened to the coils in the seat and from things she'd strap on when she went to the store for her mother. This is a slight dent in the back fender, just above the rivet holding the brace. But, and I can say this with certainty, the bike has never spent a night outdoors, have never seen rain or snow, and has been cared for all of its life.

I also have the original instructions and parts list for both the bike and the hub. There is a tool kit in a reddish-brown cloth bag that I think also goes with it.

This is a true "barn find", and any and all information would be appreciated.

Thanks a bunch,
Jeff

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It IS a beautiful BIKE! I'm 7/8 years older and have many more dings... yes, I've been in the rain and snow! Welcome to theCABE!
 
Beautiful and kinda unique bike and some pretty cool accessories. I would think that would be one to hold on to and someone out there is going to fall in love and want it and appreciate it.
 
H-N-L = High, Normal, Low. Here is the ad from 1955. I also went back and seen it was offered beginning late '53 but the only year they offered blue was '55. Notice it says the boys is blue and girls is yellow but this could easily be a typo or they offered the girls in blue as well. V/r Shawn

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It's a Steyr-Daimler Puch(later to become just Puch). I've had several and they are excellent bikes==brobably the best 3-speed hub out there( cant remember who made the hub--maybe Sachs). Bike is just well made, and an under-the-radar- bargain if you want a Euro type 3 speed. Bargain because they don't have a lot of value--although some of the younger road bike enthusiasts caught on. BTW Sears no doubt made a deal with Puch in the sixties to sell these bikes because they wanted to offer motorcycles and their Allstate brand Motorcycles were Puchs (and some Italian Gileras)
 
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In my experience, these bikes are relatively light weight yet still hold up well, which tells me they were more carefully designed than some of the other lightweights of the time. Their biggest failing seems to be the chrome plating, though most I've seen are the later versions from the '60's, when costs on a lot of 3 speeds were being pared back to the basics. Your wife took very good care of her bike and it shows. They're not rare, but most you see aren't in nearly as good condition.
 
Wow. Lot's of information and a little disappointment. First, thanks to all for the info. It really helps. Second, the disappointment. My wife had told me several years ago that she had gone online looking for the bike and found only one listing, with a price of $1800.00. I don't know if that was asking price or the price it actually sold for, but it really excited her. Now I find that apparently the actual value of the bike is a small fraction of that amount. I was going to sell it, but if I can't get more that a couple hundred dollars for it, I'll keep to remind me of her, and better days.

Thanks again,

Jeff
 
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