This item was made during or after 1995 and was part of the first big wave of fakes that crashed around our hobby beginning then. Since these have no collectible value, the poor soul who spent $306 on this can kiss their money goodbye. Do your research before investing sums like this in ostensibly vintage Halloween items.
Fakes, etc.
I'll begin populating this page with photos of reproductions, fakes and fantasy items as I see them listed on eBay, Etsy and other such sites. Hopefully, collectors will refer to this page to minimize the occasions reproductions, fakes and fantasy items are unknowingly purchased. If you see something on this page that was sold to you purporting to be a vintage item, immediately send it back for a full refund.
WONDERFUL VINTAGE GERMAN DAPPER BLACK CAT ON PUMPKIN CANDY CONTAINER
As the seller intimates, this is a reproduction. (I could tell the moment I saw the photo.) As written in the caption of the real deal shown on page 69: "Reproduced versions of this container with a smaller pumpkin base were made beginning in the mid-1990s. These new versions tend to be heavier and lack the detailing of the originals." This item has no collectible value and is certainly worth nothing close to what this seller has established as the opening price.
08/16 Update: I was sorry to see some poor sap wasted $172.38 on this reproduction.
Vintage Halloween DOUBLE SIDED Pumpkin Gingerbread Man Candy Container German
There is no record of this design existing prior to the mid-1990s. The seller states that he or she bought it in Ohio in the 1980s, but this recollection is not correct. This uninteresting design was among the crapalanche of reproductions and fakes that began plaguing our hobby in the mid-1990s when manufacturers began to realize the truly vintage German candy containers were bringing strong dollars. There were few references (and no web sites) back then to steer collectors away from such garbage. Don't be fooled!
Vintage Halloween Pumpkin Man Candy Container c1920 Germany MINT
Here is another fantasy item offered by the same seller referenced immediately below. There is no record of this sloppy, unattractive and ill-formed candy container prior to 1995. As that year progressed, this POS began showing up on the holiday lists circulated by people like the late Paul Schofield and by Jenny Tarrant. The only value I can see with this hunk-o-junk is to toss it in the air when conducting a seance to contact Annie Oakley. This is truly one of the worst of the crapalanche that began in 1995 when German "artisans" began making things to fool collectors.
Antique Beelzebub Krampus Devil candy container / rarity - Germany
This item, like all Halloween items being sold from Germany today, is a fantasy item meaning there is no vintage counterpart. If you scroll through the listings, you'll see this exact devil head being used as part of many items. The Germans have been working hard since ~1995 to flood the US market with these decorative objects in the hope they will fool collectors into thinking they are old. Unfortunately, they have succeeded to a large degree. I visit many collections throughout the US and see too many polluted with these kinds of items. One rule to keep uppermost in your mind as you consider buying things for your collection: if a Halloween item is being sold from Germany, it is merely decorative, not collectible.
