Here’s the steal of the week! The seller listed this with a BIN of $75, about one-quarter what this tambourine would have brought given its superb condition. Some lucky buyer scooped this up within 4 minutes of the listing going live.
Blog
Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.
Rare Kirchhof Vintage Metal Halloween Noisemaker Detail Design
This noisemaker is one of the hardest Kirchhof tin items to find - and I say that even though another one sold within the month. That one seemed to be in far lesser condition and brought the still surprisingly low price of $129.12. Kirchhof sold this as one of a pair. I feel this is the more interesting of the two. Turn to page 204 to see the other design.
02/18 Update: This brought $357, much more in line with what this typically brings. The other one mentioned above was a true outlier, even given the lesser condition.
Vintage Kirchhof Halloween Witch/Bats/Black Cat/Pumpkin Drum Rattle Noisemaker
This seller has listed a large number of desirable tin litho noisemakers that are worth checking out.
RARE COLLECTION OF EXTREMELY RARE AND NICE HALLOWEEN NOISE MAKERS, MANY SIGNED
When I saw what this seller set as the minimum bid price for this OK lot of relatively common tin litho noisemakers I laughed aloud. For that price I wonder if they are planning to toss in the pictured hand soap? If the seller would be open to offers, a reasonable offer would be no more than $375.
T Cohn Halloween Tambourine Bobbing For Apples Witch Pentagram Black Cat Vtg Htf
This tin litho tambourine wasn’t made by T. Cohn. It has been plainly marked on its face by the maker - Chein. It looks to be in fine condition, but the asking price of $300 is too high. A reasonable BIN offer would be ~ $175.
RARE EARLY VINTAGE HALLOWEEN NOISEMAKER CHEIN PATENT 1906 TIN WITCH PAN CAT JOL
This seller is offering this pan noisemaker for $550. Although it is an early form, the price is about $350 too high. Chein used this same lithography on a more commonly seen tambourine. These large form factor pan noisemakers were produced during the very early 1920s, even though the patent date is 1906. It is quite nice but priced too high.
Vintage Metal Halloween Noise-Maker Featuring Black Cat, Witch and Pumpkin
The tin litho noisemaker segment has been moribund for years but has been lately showing signs of life. This was one of the first market segments I collected, so these “green shoots” are welcome. This is a desirable noisemaker. Bugle produced this sometime during a 20 year span beginning in the late 1920s. I don’t believe I’ve seen this particular form with this imagery before. I show a clicker and a rectangular shaker on page 212 with this same imagery, but this round shaker is a previously unseen form for me. As I write this it has already been bid up to $93.02 with over five days remaining, so others have keyed in on this rarity.
08/12 Update: This sold for $255.33!
RARE 1930'S HALLOWEEN WITCH TAMBOURING NOISEMAKER TOY BY KIRCHHOF 6 1/4 X 1 1/4
The seller incorrectly states this tambourine was produced by Kirchhof during the 1930s. It was produced during the 1950s. Whenever you see their branding of something as a “Life of the Party” product, it is a clear signal the item was produced during the 1950s.
Vintage Halloween 8 Tin Litho Noisemakers Witches Cats Bats JOLs Owls 1920s-50s
The star of this lot is the bell clanger at the lower left with the Deco cat faces encircled by bats and owls, certainly one of the most intricate designs in Halloween tin. The maker is unknown. Prior to this listing, which escaped my eye until just now, I haven’t seen that design in that form. Quite nice!
VNTG 1920s-50s LITHO TIN WOOD HANDLE HALLOWEEN BELL NOISEMAKER WITCH BLACK CAT +
This tin litho clanger has superb graphics and is bigger than most. This item is elusive. I looked for one in this kind of condition for nearly 30 years before acquiring one. Tin has been one of the cooler genres these last 10 years although there have been recent signs of re-invigoration. The rare tin items have routinely brought strong prices - as I expect this will do.
05/21 Update: This sold for $566.56. Naturally, two determined bidders escalated this well beyond the sustainable level of ~$350.
Halloween Noisemaker Litho Tin/Wood Black Cat JOL Witch Pumpkin Old Vtg
This Bugle imagery is typically seen on a rectangular shaker or a clicker, so this form, a clanger, is unusual. The form drove the price. Given how big the image actually is, this form suits it far better than either the shaker or clicker forms. I received a lot of email asking me about the item, so I wasn’t surprised at the ending value.
1930 rare sexy flying witch Halloween tambourine
This rare tambourine might very well have brought a stronger price if the seller, seemingly new to eBay, had posted numerous, clear photos. Simply posting one blurry photo and providing a skimpy description was a poor effort on the seller’s part. This Deco witch flying over a cityscape tambourine noisemaker is rare enough I’ve never seen one in good enough condition to acquire. It was produced by T. Cohn during the 1930s.
I just received this email from the buyer - an informed and savvy collector: “… looking forward to your upcoming auction. I have been looking for a mint condition version of this tambourine for my collection. After many requests for additional pictures with no results I was able to get the seller to tell me it is in mint condition. I took a chance and paid $300 for it. I will let you know if I made the right decision.”
03/12 Update: The acquiring collector turned out to be thrilled with his purchase. It turns out the tambourine was in near-mint+ condition. I wonder why the seller didn’t bother posting several clear photos?
Vintage Halloween Clapper Noisemaker Art Deco Flapper Jack O Lantern Retro
Sometimes tin litho manufacturers like the one that produced this clanger, T. Cohn, would allow these seriously misaligned scrap items to be sold as irregulars. They aren’t too common as the producers weren’t looking to be considered anything less than a company issuing first-tier products. Aesthetically, I find these unappealing, but do understand the allure of owning such a novelty item.
Vintage US Metal Toy Tin Litho Rattle Noisemaker Halloween Skeleton
This was priced incorrectly by the seller with a BIN of $35. The listing lasted less than 20 minutes. Using an auction format, it surely would have broken the $200 mark. Unless you know what you are doing, avoid placing a BIN on items.
VINTAGE 1950’S HALLOWEEN WITCH CLICKER TOY
Here's a tin litho clicker that I haven't seen for sale in a while. In terms of Halloween output, Japanese material is largely derivative and poorly made, hence the market for their items has never taken off. There are exceptions, though, and this visually engaging diminutive noisemaker is one of them. I'm glad to have one as part of the collection. If you like strong design coupled with a modicum of rarity, this is just the item for you.
09/04 Update: This sold for a very strong $169.50.
