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When the Pez mint dispenser was first introduced it was meant
to replace
the activity of smoking.
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 name
PEZ was derived from the German word for peppermint - PfeffErminZ - and
it 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 Santa Claus. Not surprisingly, kids began to buy the product for the
dispenser (the candy was secondary) and a phenomenon was born.
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 (no feet).
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.
PEZ Candy is manufactured in Orange, Connecticut, and the dispensers are
manufactured and imported from Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, China, and
Slovenia. The current US flavours are orange, grape, lemon and strawberry,
although the rest of the world also has cherry.
PEZ Dispensers, The Hot Collectible!
http://www.worldcollectorsnet.com/pez/pezarticle.html