My Singer 201-2 came with a plastic bobbin - I don't know how old it was - and seems to prefer that bobbin. I had bobbins from my treadle 66 that I tried and it didn't seem to like them for some reason. The 'new' 201-2 I bought has some dark metal bobbins - almost black - and I'm looking forward to trying them. I never liked plastic, and since I often manage to drop the bobbin so it rolls behind the machine and under the radiator, the metal bobbins are easier to retrieve with a magnet.