The PEZ Phenomenon unpacked
If you’ve got an old PEZ sweety plastic thing lying around read this article – it could pay for that dream holiday! One of REPRESENTS biggest fans Noxyrsox is fascinated by the PEZ Phenomenon and tells us all about this POP CULTURE:
“I was looking up PEZ dispensers on the net, and being an avid fan (I have…
them all over the top of my computer), I was fascinated to read about the history of this classic gizmo and see photos of old PEZ dispensers. People are crazy about them and will pay up to $300 for a real collectible. I have a feeling it’s a collection that will get me hooked! ”
People have been collecting PEZ candy dispensers almost as long as they’ve been collecting stamps. It was one of the first pop culture products to become a contemporary collectible. It was created in Austria in the 1920’s, and was originally marketed as a compressed peppermint candy – “The mint for the refined world” according to creator, Eduard Haas, as an alternative to smoking. The name PEZ was derived from the German word for peppermint – PfeffErminZ – and is correctly written in all capital letters. In the 1950’s, the company began to release PEZ dispensers with character heads, such as a Nurse, a Doctor, and zoo animals. It is unknown which dispenser was first but it was either the Full Body Robot or Full Body Santa.
Not surprisingly, kids began to buy the product for the dispenser (the candy was secondary) and a phenomenon was born.
To date, about 300 PEZ dispensers have been designed and marketed. All are in high demand with collectors throughout the world trying to obtain a complete set. PEZ dispensers are difficult to date because of the numerous releases and variations. Generally those made before 1989 can be identified because they have no “feet”. The feet on the current models allow the dispenser to stand upright. Some of the very early versions actually came in a box, and those in mint condition can fetch several hundred dollars on the secondary market. Some of the rarer dispensers include Baseball Glove (no feet), Batman with black hood and cape, and Captain America.
The company has produced many dispenser lines of comic book and cartoon characters, such as Disney, Looney Tunes, Spiderman, and Star Wars. Through the company website, PEZ sells variations called “Misfits”, which are batches of dispensers that didn’t quite work out right. Since these are only available through the website, they are bound to gain value on the secondary market.
Over 3 billion PEZ candies are consumed annually in the U.S. alone. The current line includes favourites like the Flintstones, Peanuts, Looney Tunes, Garfield and friends, Super Heroes, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the Disney line, Trucks, Whistles, Dinosaurs, Muppets, Holiday dispensers and the new Star Wars line. New additions to the range include Sponge Bob Square Pants and the characters from Shrek.
