Beistle produced this rare Mystery Answer Board for a single season - 1932. I feel this version is more aesthetically pleasing than the larger white-backed Witch’s Mystery Answer Game they produced the year before. I can’t remember when I last saw this for sale. Even so, paying $400 for this item when it is in such poor condition is hard to understand.
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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.
rare vintage Beistle Halloween embossed skeleton diecut decoration
After several years, another of these most-elusive of diecuts surfaced. I awoke to a flurry of emails about this item, and encouraged everyone who wrote to jump on it. The seller, afflicted with a recent negative on eBay, offered it for $3000 or best offer. I don't know the seller, but felt the diecut looked right from the several photos, most of which were pretty low quality. There is a mystery about this diecut, first produced by Beistle in 1932. It was one of a set and was shown as part of that set for many seasons beginning in 1932. While all the others from this set surface with some regularity, this one doesn't. While I know one was sold for a pittance at a show in Ohio in 2017, when this diecut gets the proper exposure it has sold for as high as ~$3500. I'm glad to know that a friend of mine who has been searching for this diecut for many years was the buyer. I know it will have a treasured spot in his already impressive collection, which I am dazzled by annually when I get a chance to visit. I can't wait to see how this precious object is worked into his displays!
