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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.

Rare Vintage Halloween Germany Horned Head Candy Container

The mark on this candy container is instructive. When you see the mark, "Container Made in Germany," you then know the item was made sometime between 1950 and 1955. Containers made during this time period command far fewer dollars than items made pre-WWII. I fear that the seller will not obtain even her opening bid of $200, as these typically trade in the $90-110 range. 

Two Great Facebook Groups...

I recently joined two Facebook groups that may be of interest to you. One is called Vintage Halloween and the other is Everything Fall. They both seem to be groups with an active participant base. I've found it to be a great way to see parts of many other collections. Education, especially with a hobby that can be pricey, like ours, is a must. Given the relatively high number of Ebay auctions I've seen end where newly made items have fetched sadly high prices, I'd encourage all prospective bidders to up their familiarity with truly vintage items. These two FB groups may be a good tool to add to your collective quivers! 

Set of 4 Antique German Pumpkin Face Cups from a Child's Tea Set Jack O' Lantern

It is good to see this lot of wonderful porcelain cups sell for such a strong price. The Germans made pieces of this largish set from 1908-1932. These cups were made in three sizes, with the ones in the lot all being the smallest size made. The next size up (2" h x 2.25" w) is the most commonly seen size with the largest size (3" h x 4.5" w) being made only with handles. In both the small and medium-sized cups, it is harder to find the handled iterations. They tend to sell for more, all else being equal. Examples of other items of this set can be seen on page 117. 

LOT OF 5 VINTAGE Halloween PAPER/CARDBOARD MASKS 1940's WITCH CAT SCARECROW PUMP

This lot of masks and one rare-ish diecut was produced by Beistle, with most having long runs from 1938-1954. The witch face diecut is hard-to-find, and was produced only from 1933-1938. Given that this seller has smartly started the entire lot at a very reasonable $9.99, someone may be able to score a bargain if this lot contains items that interest you. 

St. Patrick's Day update: The lot sold for a very reasonable $65.00!

OLD ** BIG **GERMAN PAPER MACHE CANDY CONTAINER DEVIL HEAD , KRAMPUS, BAD SANTA

Unfortunately, here is another example of a collector, almost certainly one without much experience, wasting money on an item that isn't vintage. Always be wary of buying any Halloween items listed as being vintage from Germany-based sellers. The Germans made all of their Halloween items through the 1950s for export only, nothing was left in the country to sell. This devil head has none of the characteristics associated with truly vintage German candy containers. 

FABULOUS LG MARKED GERMANY PAPER MACHE BLACK CAT ON PUMPKIN CANDY CONTAINER

This seller has listed a number of very dubious Halloween items recently. Here is another one. This is not an old item, but one that has been recently manufactured somewhere, probably off-shore. It has none of the detailing characteristic of an truly vintage item. Unfortunately for some bidder, it has already reached a price of nearly $160 with 5+ hours to go. It has zero collectible value. 

03/08 Update: This ended with some poor schmuck forking over $355.00 for what is a $10 decorative item. 

21" ~ WITCH ~ Nodder ~ Candy Container ~ #1 ~ 2008 ~ Kathy Patterson

Admittedly, this is an awesome and seemingly meticulously crafted piece of Halloween folk art. However, the seller has listed and re-listed this item (among other pieces of folk art) for many months, perhaps for over a year. It illustrates that the holiday folk art field is still developing with a very limited clientele for such high-end pieces. If the seller is serious about wanting to move this out to a new home, she'll have to drop the price, perhaps substantially.