I'd like to obtain a Pflueger bait casting reel, same kind as I saw in
the tackle box of a friend's grandfather. We checked some old catalogs
from the 1950s, they sold for about $44 then, the most expensive reel
in the catalog, I guess that would be a $100+ reel today. I don't think
they are manufactured anymore.

Any ideas? Emphasis, it's a bait casting reel, not a spinning reel.