subject: The Metal Lunch Box That Fetched Over $11,000! [print this page] To be precise this Isolina metal lunch box sold for $11,500, or $13,225 if you include the purchaser's premium. The transaction occurred in 2003 at Chickens Moo Inc auction and set the World record for the highest amount ever paid for a vintage lunch box.
It goes without saying that this price was very much the exception rather than the norm. However, there are some other examples of collectibles in this ever popular niche fetching several thousand dollars in value. Another great example was a 1954 Superman piece which sold in 2005 for $5,000.
If you think you might have a collector's item hanging about in your attic or garage then you might like to consider the following points before getting it valued:
1. Condition. As with all collectibles, this factor is extremely important. If the box is slightly worse for wear either from rust in the case of metal lunch boxes or from possible damage in a school playground fight then it might be possible to do some restoration or cleaning work to support its value on the secondary market.
2. Date of manufacture. While the heyday of lunchboxes came in the 1950s as part of the merchandise craze associated with the many popular TV and movie stars of the time, earlier items from the 40s and 50s are often more valuable. This is simply because there aren't many of them: Production was very limited following the Depression and the Second World War.
3. Design. This means not only if the imprinted lithographed image itself is of a popular TV or movie star but also the shape of the box. Unusual shapes are often more collectible, especially the dome designs which were introduced in the 1950s.
