Vintage PEZ Dispensers - $4,500

Once again we found you an absolutely amazing treasure. This one took us by surprise more than ever! What we have here is a vintage 1970s PEZ dispenser set depicting the characters Asterix, Obelix and the Druid from the well-known comic. This set of seemingly ordinary PEZ dispensers recently sold for the unbelievable amount of $4,500! We've said it before, but we had no clue that PEZ dispensers, the candy holder toy we've all had the pleasure of playing with when we were kids, were collectible let alone could have a significant value. PEZ and its dispensers are still a popular item, with billions of pieces of PEZ candy per year devoured in the USA alone.

The word PEZ was formed from the German word 'Pfefferminz'. PEZ was invented in 1927 by a gentleman named Edward Haas, a candy manufacturer / seller from Vienna, Austria. The PEZ mint was invented to be a breathmint for smokers, who could freshen up their smoky breath with one of these mints. In the early days, PEZ users would typiclaly carry the mints around in a tin can.

PEZ dispensers as we know them did not appear until 1947. Since the PEZ mints were aimed at smokers, the PEZ dispenser was modeled after the common cigarette lighter. Not until 1952, when the Haas manufacturing company expanded its market to include the United States, did character heads appear on top of the dispensers. Having done their market research, the Haas company decided to target children and place Disney character's heads on top to make the product irresistable to children. Another thing that changed was that the PEZ candy itself became available in a variety of fruit flavors. For a more detailed history, check out this Yankee Grocery page.

Every year, 'PEZheads' gather at a variety of conventions to buy, sell and trade PEZ, talk about PEZ and meet other collectors. The PEZ company actively supports the collecting world on their web site, and is known to give away collector's items at these conventions. Very nice! There also is the bi-monthly PEZ Collector's News newsletter, to which you can subscribe for $19 per year. As with most collectibles, there is a plethora of books on PEZ history and collecting available.

Checking Ebay for PEZ, we've seen many dispensers that sold for hundreds of dollars each. If you have a PEZ dispenser and need to get an appraisal, check out the price guides and books, or contact one of the many collectors out there. It might very well be worth it!

We love this new treasure and will be keeping our eye out for those dispensers!