Saturday, January 24, 2015
Bobby Acker's Crazy PEZ Variations and Tests
PEZhead Bobby Acker has an impressive collection of PEZ variations and tests. Below are some of my favorites from his collection: Spongebob, Squidward, and Easter Bunny. You can see these and more at his Crazy Candy & Collectibles Flickr page.
Saturday, January 3, 2015
PEZcific Feb 19-21, 2015: Mark Your Calendar
Mark your calendar for the 14th Annual PEZcific Coast Convention in
Southern California. It's set to take place Feb. 19-21 (Thu-Sat), 2015
at its usual spot, the Manhattan Beach Marriott hotel. Maheba Mehri is
once again the PEZcific Hostess. She does a great job with the
convention each year and I'm sure 2015 will be no exception.
As you can see from the logo below, the 2015 theme is Wizard of Oz. A quote on the PEZcific registration form reads "Follow the PEZzy Brick Road to PEZcific".
I'm already looking forward to going. This will make my 7th PEZcific convention. Last year I registered and had a great time room hopping to visit dealers and attending seminars. I missed bingo, though, so this year I plan on enjoying that too. Hopefully I'll see you PEZheads Friday or Saturday at PEZcific!
As you can see from the logo below, the 2015 theme is Wizard of Oz. A quote on the PEZcific registration form reads "Follow the PEZzy Brick Road to PEZcific".
I'm already looking forward to going. This will make my 7th PEZcific convention. Last year I registered and had a great time room hopping to visit dealers and attending seminars. I missed bingo, though, so this year I plan on enjoying that too. Hopefully I'll see you PEZheads Friday or Saturday at PEZcific!
Here's a video from PEZcific 2014 for you to enjoy. It was filmed by Tara Telford, wife of PEZhead Paul Telford:
Thursday, January 1, 2015
Die Cut Stems
In the early 1960's, the PEZ company created dispensers with designs cut out of the stem. These designs revealed the color of the inner sleeve and are known as die cut stem dispensers. I would love to see this technique used again in today's PEZ dispensers. Imagine all the amazing and intricate detail possible with computerized die cutting machines now. It'll probably never happen due to the extra manufacturing cost, but I can still dream!
The most rare of all the die cut stems is the Comet Regular. The design has one large (shooting) star and three surrounding small stars. Good luck finding one of these! From what I understand, there is only one collector (Craig Robbins) known to own a Comet Ragular. Check out this video of his collection from 1993 featured on Entertainment Tonight.
Not always included in the discussion of die cut stems is the Arithmetic Regular. It is actually considered by some to be the first die cut stem dispenser. Apparently, the Arithmetic Regulars did not sell well and were eventually given away as a mail-in premium. It turned out kids preferred PEZ dispensers with character heads, not math tools! :-) Note that the Arithmetic Regulars have two slots cut out in the stem, each having a sticker below it with numbers 1-9. It is common to find Arithmetic Regulars missing one or both of these number stickers, as shown in the tan dispenser below. The Arithmetic Regular is available in stem colors Blue, Red, Tan, Green, Yellow, and Orange (very rare). Arithmetic Regulars can also be found with a key chain attached, as shown below.
Most commonly thought of as die cut stem dispensers are Bozo, Casper, Easter Bunny, Donald Duck, and Mickey Mouse. Of these five, the Easter Bunny is the rarest and most valuable. Casper is available with black or red inner sleeves. Bozo and Mickey are available only with a red inner sleeve. Easter Bunny and Donald Duck are available only with a yellow inner sleeve.
Currently, I don't own any PEZ dispensers with die cut stems, but I hope to one day!
The most rare of all the die cut stems is the Comet Regular. The design has one large (shooting) star and three surrounding small stars. Good luck finding one of these! From what I understand, there is only one collector (Craig Robbins) known to own a Comet Ragular. Check out this video of his collection from 1993 featured on Entertainment Tonight.
Not always included in the discussion of die cut stems is the Arithmetic Regular. It is actually considered by some to be the first die cut stem dispenser. Apparently, the Arithmetic Regulars did not sell well and were eventually given away as a mail-in premium. It turned out kids preferred PEZ dispensers with character heads, not math tools! :-) Note that the Arithmetic Regulars have two slots cut out in the stem, each having a sticker below it with numbers 1-9. It is common to find Arithmetic Regulars missing one or both of these number stickers, as shown in the tan dispenser below. The Arithmetic Regular is available in stem colors Blue, Red, Tan, Green, Yellow, and Orange (very rare). Arithmetic Regulars can also be found with a key chain attached, as shown below.
Most commonly thought of as die cut stem dispensers are Bozo, Casper, Easter Bunny, Donald Duck, and Mickey Mouse. Of these five, the Easter Bunny is the rarest and most valuable. Casper is available with black or red inner sleeves. Bozo and Mickey are available only with a red inner sleeve. Easter Bunny and Donald Duck are available only with a yellow inner sleeve.
Currently, I don't own any PEZ dispensers with die cut stems, but I hope to one day!
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