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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.

~Vintage~ Halloween Wooden Drum- Devil and Pumpkin~ Germany~

I doubt this is a truly vintage item. The rim may be vintage but the skins with the images are inconsistent with any other such thing I have seen. The buyer paid $300, so if it is a married item (old rims merged with new skins), the money was ill-spent.

Vintage Halloween Series 6931 Fairman, Pink of Perfection Postcard

What? I remember it wasn’t that long ago when one couldn’t give Fairman cards away! (I queried the seller and discovered the ending price was the result of an error by the prevailing bidder entering $9,998 rather than $99.98. The seller cancelled the transaction and relisted the card.)

SCARCE Antique Vintage Halloween 2-Sided Skull Lantern Decor Dolly Toy 1936-50s!

If you’re in the market for this skull lantern, this example demonstrates exactly what you want to see - a rich tan patina. When this was first produced decades ago, the lantern presented as off-white. But given the high acid content of the cardboard stock used, truly vintage lanterns will always have this kind of patina. This lantern design was reproduced some years back. I still see them now and then. They present as white - sometimes a bright white. If you see such a lantern, it isn’t vintage.

antique Trade Card McLaughlin's XXXX Coffee fold out Halloween Pumpkin Head

Admittedly, this trade card is exceedingly rare. This is only the second time I’ve seen it.) A few years ago I was invited to a collector’s home in southern California who had a few Halloween things amongst her main collecting area, advertising. She had a few Halloween things she was open to selling. Although the outside of the home looked normal, inside it was a dust bowl. A hoarder, the house was hard to maneuver through. Sadly, it was filthy, so I quickly exited as I didn’t have a respirator. She had great German candy containers that were so covered in dust it was difficult to see much of them. She had Christmas feather trees that were so laden with dust that the old ornaments hanging there so forlornly long ago had lost any shine. How does someone live like that? She had tossed some items she was open to selling on a bed that reminded me of the bed lived upon by Big Edie in the great film, Grey Gardens. Out of this pitiful dreck, I seized upon the McLaughlin Coffee trade card in surprisingly good condition - just before I could no longer hold my breath. It cleaned up well!) The condition of this example gives me pause. Someone wanted it badly enough to pay $72, making me wonder what the one in the collection is worth.

Vintage Halloween Toy Noise Maker Clapper Black Cat US Metal Tin Party Favor

I’ve seen a noted and sustained strengthening to the tin litho noisemaker market segment over the last year. Prices for tambourines by and large have remained strong over the last 15 years, but the same can’t be said for other forms of noisemakers. Yes, unusual tin items routinely bring strong dollars, but prices for common noisemakers have largely languished. With data points like the one below, I feel this is finally changing. The US Metal Toy example shown is common yet it fetched a strong $49.99. There has been a large influx of new collectors into our hobby, seemingly undaunted by the cost of building a collection these days. I feel that much of this new money is being spent in market segments that are still relatively inexpensive - like tin litho noisemakers.

Incredibly Rare Vintage Halloween Waving Jack O' Lantern Die-cut Germany 1920's

This seller listed four items with stratospheric opening prices. When I saw them while enjoying the wilds of Montana, I felt that only one would sell - and that one did. This seller had two German diecuts (skull and crossbones with hat and a black melon with transparency) that typically fetch below $1,200 with an opening price of $3,499 and $4,299, respectively. The third item was the Beistle skeleton-in-graveyard diecut with an opening ask of what would be a record price - $4,099. (I sold one in my 2024 auction for the still-valid public record price of $3,700.) However, when I saw this waving JOL I knew someone would buy it. The record price for this item was set several years ago for ~$6,600 - and that example was inferior in condition than this fantastic item.) It will be interesting to see if this seller relists the three with opening asks more in line with the market.

Vintage Halloween Witch On Rocket Rosbro Kokomold Candy Container Pumpkin Wheels

The Kokomold hard plastic market segment has been on fire these last few months. I feel collectors are waking up to Kokomold’s “out-there” design aesthetic and attention to detail. (Just look at those wheels!) I had foolishly spurned the entire hard plastic segment for decades until I realized how fun it was to incorporate Kokomold (specifically) pieces into some cabinets. I saw a larger version of the witch in rocket in butter yellow sold for $3,000 on June 28th.

Vintage Halloween German-Devil-Candy Container

Sad to see some poor soul wasted their money on this item. These were produced beginning in 1995 and potentially continuing to today. Although most have no bottoms, some enterprising fakers will fashion a nice looking bottom as with this example. I wasn’t surprised that the seller had nothing to say about the items’ age except to note it was “vintage.”

Vintage Halloween Tin Tambourine Noisemaker: Witch Bat Moon Kirchhoff?

Someone got a true bargain scooping up this tambourine for $69.99. Reading the description, I wonder if it was composed by AI as it is disjointed and repetitive. I’ve never understood why sellers include such phrases as “…is a unique addition to your holiday decorations.” Why waste the space? I’m a strong proponent of a “Just the facts, Ma’am” approach to listing. If a seller is wanting to pad their descriptions like they are reliving their high school English class essay assignments, spend it on meticulously describing condition. Nothing else matters.

2 Packs Antique Vintage Halloween Eureka Die Cuts Witch, Ghost, Black Cat

This listing was valuable in that it conclusively established the manufacturer of these designs. (Extant original packaging will do that.) The witch design is anodyne enough that I think it matters less than with the other design. That surprised ghoul/ghost design surfaces from time to time. Collectors have variously attributed it to Dennison or Beistle. I knew neither was correct - but never thought of Eureka. My collecting interests diminish rapidly for items produced after 1955 - the sweet spot for Eureka.

See You In July!

Hi Readers, I’m going to be doing lots of things the rest of this month. It’s nearly summer AND it has remained cool in the valley, so the outdoors beckon. I’ll return sometime in July with additional posts and a newly restocked For Sale page.