This is a great, hard-to-find German tin ratchet from the 1930s. However, it isn't worth anywhere near the wildly optimistic Buy-It-Now price this seller has slapped on it. The value is in the neighborhood of $150-225 on a good day.
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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.
Vintage Halloween Pumpkin Man Toy c1920 Germany Key Wind Up Walking Walker
I would wager that this is a new item made to deceive. Nothing is "right" to me from the way the crepe paper outfit is made, to the metal feet, to the black hands and to the way the face looks. Given that this same seller is trying to peddle a candy container that is, in fact, a fantasy item, I'd be wary. Spend your dough on items that have no questions of doubt surrounding them.
Vintage Halloween Pumpkin Man Candy Container c1920 Germany MINT
This is not a vintage item from the 1920s. These ugly and soul-less fantasy candy containers began showing up to pollute our fine hobby in the mid-1990s. They have zero vintage value and extremely modest decorative value.
RARE 1930's T COHN HALLOWEEN SEXY WITCH in PUMPKIN METAL TAMBOURINE
There have been so few interesting Ebay listings of late that I was beginning to wonder where have all the good items gone. This is a good item! The seller is correct in writing that this tambourine is listed on page 193. The guide value is $450 for this tin litho tambourine made by T. Cohn in the 1930s. With well over 4 days to go before the auction ends, the tam has already garnered bids to a strong $406.50.
Tin litho noisemakers is one of the few genres that hasn't seen appreciable price increases over the last few years. The sub-genre of tambourines is the exception, as they typically bring very strong prices. One of the reasons for this, I think, is what great display items tambourines make. I hang the ones in my personal collection on the wall. This particular tam with its energetic Art Deco motif is one of the harder to find from the Golden Age of Halloween tin lithography.
