Pflueger made some left hand wind versions in several sizes in the 1930s. This was the 15XX series (e.g. 1594, 1596). These are not the same as the 15XX series reels made in china in the 1990s through early 2000's with a rim control spool. By the 1940s through mid 1950's the only left hand wind version in consistent production was the 1594, though the 1595 was also in production at some points. The original 15XX series reels are fairly rare.
In the 1950's they started making all of the the sizes except the 1492 and 1492 1/2 with reversible drag plates so they could be converted to left hand wind. The drag plates had a different number of detents on each side, which was kind of weird.
Some Orvis "Madison" reels from around 1970 were rebadged Medalists.
The design was copied quite a bit and there were a number of fly reels made in Asia that were knock offs of the Medalist that often had slightly different dimensions or used metric screws or had other differences. Though they might look the same as the Pflueger (and later Shakespeare) reels, the parts are often not interchangeable.
If interested in the history of these reels you can find a great article that originally appeared on the FlyFishOhio website (now defunct) via the internet archive
https://web.archive.org/web/20160114163 ... dalist.htm
and
https://web.archive.org/web/20160101150 ... Part_2.htm
Also
https://www.flyanglersonline.com/featur ... art287.php
If you have a desire to spiff up your Medalist you can get modern machined replacement parts here
https://onepfoot.com
I often fish my Medalist reels for trout, panfish, and bass.
Anglers often used the larger sizes for bonefish, bonito, tarpon (even big ones), smaller tunas, striped bass, and a host of other species for the development of newer high tech designs.
