Pez candy was first invented in Austria in 1927, but it wasn't until 1955, after the candy was introduced to the United States, that the company began marketing the candy toward children and producing the dispensers featuring character heads that are so recognizable today.
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Since then, more than 1,500 Pez dispensers have been created, and the most rare editions are worth thousands of dollars. These are the six most valuable Pez dispensers…
- The 1955 Santa Claus model is one of the very first character Pez dispensers ever released. Notably, the dispenser has a round body, departing from the traditional rectangular shape.
- With only two in existence, the 1982 World's Fair promotional dispensers are the most valuable items of their kind. In 2006, the astronaut dispenser, which has a green stem and white helmet, was sold for just over $32,000 on eBay.
- From the 1940s, the Locking Cap was one the first dispensers widely available. Initially marketed as a smoking cessation aid, the dispenser is shaped like a cigarette lighter and a few in circulation are vanilla-colored. The most rare models were produced in Germany after WWII and bear the words "US Zone" on its exterior.
- The first robot PEZ dispensers, also released in 1955, were solid colored in gray, navy blue, red, or bright yellow. Also very rare, the 1955 Robot Flying Saucer promotional PEZ dispenser shows slight differences from the standard robot versions.
- Recalled due to child safety concerns, the original Make a Face set packaging includes six tubes of candy and the pieces on the face are interchangeable. In mint condition, this particular dispenser can fetch several thousand dollars.
- The Mickey Mouse Soft Head dispenser is a prototype and only one is thought to exist. With a red rectangular stem and a soft plastic Mickey Mouse head, this candy dispenser was allegedly sold for $7,000.
