Profit From Collectibles

Lunchboxes. Old steel lunchboxes with eye-catching graphics are becoming increasingly valuable. Lunchboxes were in their infancy as a collectible five years ago, but a four-year tour showcasing them in a dozen museums added a big endorsement.

Every conceivable genre of pop culture can be found on lunchboxes.

The most collected are superhero-themed, such as Superman, Batman, the Green Hornet and Wonder Woman; and cowboys, such as Hopalong Cassidy and Roy Rogers. Other popular categories are children's characters, primarily from Walt Disney films, and TV shows, such as Howdy Doody and The Lone Ranger.

Manufactures include Universal (it made the most valuable boxes since it didn't mass-produce them), Aladdin and Thermos.

Look for lunchboxes in mint condition, especially ones that have an intact Thermos bottle. The character portrayed on a box is also a key factor in determining value.

Prices can be astronomical: A 1954 Superman box in mint condition by Universal brought $13,300 at a recent auction. A 1955 box of Davy Crockett at the Alamo in mint condition by Thermos sold for $2,500 (without the Thermos bottle). The same design Thermos bottle alone, in top condition, can go for $3,500.

Vinyl and plastic boxes from the 1970s and 1980s don't bring nearly the same prices as the steel boxes from the 1950s and 1960s, and don't have much appreciation potential.

Teddy bears. Vintage teddy bears can be a bullish collectible.

Teddy-bear production started in Germany in 1903; the stuffed bears were named after President Teddy Roosevelt. Within a few years, teddy bears had become a craze in the U.S. Value of vintage bears depends on condition, maker, age, size, material and even facial expression.

Good values can be found in bears made in the 1950s. For example, a 19" German golden mohair teddy, made around 1950 by Richard Dien, in excellent condition, recently sold for $148 at auction. A French 20" champagne-colored mohair bear in excellent condition, also from about 1950, by Fradap (an acronym for Fabrique Artistique d'Animaux Pelache) sold at auction for $644.

Hand puppets. Character hand puppets, depicting comic or celebrity characters from baby-boomer childhood years, are hot and should only get hotter. Many of the characters appeared on children's TV shows that aired in the 1950s.

Prices are climbing but are still reasonable. A Howdy Doody puppet set of six -- Howdy Doody, Dilly Dally, Phineas T. Bluster, Princess Summerfallwinterspring, Flub-a-Dub and Clarabell, each 8" high with vinyl heads and cloth bodies in very fine condition from the early 1950s -- sold for $228 at auction.

The Lone Ranger and Tonto puppets in excellent condition in the original box, 11½" in height with vinyl heads and vinyl bodies by the Ideal Toy Co. from the 1960s, sold at auction for $479.

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