How to tell a real vintage lunch box from a reproduction
There are reproduction lunch boxes out there that are unfortunately being passed off as vintage. The Collector Guys are going to show you how to tell if it’s real or repro.
We recently had a viewer email us with a question regarding a vintage 1984 Gremlins lunchbox he’d purchased. It was in such good shape that he wanted to know if it was a reproduction. So how do you know if you have a true vintage lunchbox?
First let’s talk about the use of the term “vintage” or better yet..the misuse of the term. This is important because sellers will claim “everything” is vintage. So let’s start out by defining some important collectible terms.
If something is over three hundred years old it is an artifact.
Unless it is organic then it’s a fossil.
Over a hundred years? That is an antique.
Here is where it gets tricky. There are two definitions of vintage. One, being at least forty years old. So by that definition, if you are reading this in 2023, for something to be considered “vintage” it would have to be made in 1983 or older.
But there is another definition. Something is considered vintage if it is “from a period of origin or manufacturing.” Metal lunchboxes fall into that category. The pop culture boxes we love to collect started production in the 50’s and ended in the mid 80s. That is their “period of origin and manufacturing” making them technically vintage.
Here we have two “Land of the Giants lunch boxes. The original that was produced in 1968 which is worth four hundred to five hundred bucks with the bottle. And a ten dollar reproduction with the exact same graphics. Over the years there have been a few retro metal boxes produced using the original graphics. Which is fine. They were made to evoke nostalgia not to trick buyers into thinking it’s the real deal. It’s when shifty sellers try to pass these off as original is where we have problems. So let’s compare.
Number one. First the overall appearance. The box on the right is in unbelievable shape. Which is why I don’t believe it’s real. It’s way to shiny for a box made over fifty years ago. Could there be a mint version out there? Maybe, but still this is the first red flag. Also does the box look smaller than it should? The reproduction are very close to the original size but since it is built a little different it looks a little smaller.
Number two. The truth lies in the hardware. The latch on the reproduction is completely different from the original . As you can see here the new lunch box has a smaller latch.
Also the handle is completely different from the vintage box. The new one has a smooth handle instead of the classic Aladdin ridged handle used in the the 60’s.
Number three. See these rivets? With the exception of possibly some early lunch boxes made in the 1950’s, you will not see rivets in vintage lunch boxes. I have only seen these on reproductions.
Number four. Open it up! What does the inside look like? If is unpainted metal. It’s a reproduction. I have hundreds of vintage lunchboxes in my collection and not one has this shiny unpainted metal on the inside.
Original on the left. Reproduction on the right.
Reproduction
Vintage metal lunch boxes should have have white painted metal in the inside.
Original
Number five. The last straw. Check the fine print on the side or bottom. The copyright on the reproduction says 2008. I know this seems obvious but if you are looking at pictures on an auction site you may miss it or the seller may chose to not show a pic of that at all.
Check the copyright
There are a number of retro metal lunch boxes out there that are designed to look just like something you may have had as a kid. If you are looking for something that just looks cool and don’t care if it’s original. Great! Buy it and enjoy it. But if you are looking for an original remember what to look out for.
So was our viewer’s Gremlins box real or reproduction? From the photos he sent ...it looks like it’s the real deal. If you have any questions for the Collector Guys you can email us at thosecollectorguys@gmail.com or message us through our Facebook page.
