Helmets
Of all my crazy collecting impulses, my obsession with gumball helmets may be the most inexplicable - but also my longest-lived. Since I was five years old, I was obsessed with gumball helmets. My heart would race every time I walked into a High's market, a Woolworth's, or any store that had those beautiful machines that dispensed helmets. Through the glass windows of the machine, I could see various colors and logos, turned and tilted in all directions, and I could spend hours trying to determine if the green one I saw was the Jets or Eagles; or the white one I saw with the center stripe; the Dolphins or Patriots. I would always beg my parents for a quarter or two and more often than not they would oblige without asking questions or trying to reason with me. There was no better feeling than inserting the quarter, turning that dial apparatus, which returned the perfect amount of resistance, hearing the quarter clang against countless other quarters in an invisible silver reservoir, and then feeling the machine shift ever so slightly, hearing the groan of the grinding gears, and then, finally, opening the metal hatch, reaching in, and gently grabbing the capsule that held my next prize. I'd repeat this scenario hundreds of times throughout my childhood, never, ever becoming bored of it.
Anyway, if that seems insane, it's because it is. If if you think that's insane, there's no telling what you'll think of me after learning that I have (as a functioning adult) tried to recreate those childhood experiences in my own home. You'll see three gumball helmet machines below. These are not authenticated machines, but generic machines filled with carefully curated gumball helmets from their respective eras. There is NO MIXING. Also, no one is allowed to actually buy helmets or actually touch the machines. Yes, the helmets must sit there, captive prizes of my enduring childhood, content with their alternate destiny.
The machine in the middle features an authentic 1980 gumball helmet vending card (you'll see more of these as you scroll down the page). You can also see the may of the old-style helmets through the glass, including the Bengals, Bills, Dolphins, and others. This machine is about 3/4 of the way full and I have only added helmets from this eara that are in NrMt or Mint condition. These can be challenging to find.
The other two machines feature more modern helmets. The smaller machine on the left features helmets from 2004, and the machine on the right features helmets from 2014. Both of these are totally full.
Believe it or not, there is a small group of collectors who will really appreciate these. There is "some" market for vintage gumball helmets. Most people would never even think of purchasing these or considering their value, but, if you're curious, these are worth at least $1,000 combined.
Leaf Gumball Helmets in a Box
If a convenient store or toy store did not have a helmet machine, there was still a chance they sold the items you see in the picture below. This is really how the term "gumball helmet" was born. These are boxes of Leaf gumball helmets from 1980 and 1981. Each box comes with 24 packages. These packages include a helmet, a plastic facemask, and a gumball (now 40 years old). Although the randomness of helmet acquisition via the machine was intoxicating, I wasn't above cheating. If you shift the helmet inside the packaging so that the side of the helmet with the logo sticker presses against the white part of the wrapper, you can sometimes make out the logo.thereby learning the identity of the team; albeit this can be quite an effort. The example you see in the picture has a "yellow bolt" San Diego Chargers helmet inside.
These boxes are quite rare, and in my 20 plus years of serious collecting, have only come across four of them - all of which I purchased of course. People don't really know how to price these as there is rarely any precedent. I value each at $250.00, although I would never sell them for that price.
Leaf MLB Baseball Mini-Helmets
I was never into the baseball version of gumball helmets as a child, but somehow as an adult have become equally enamored with them. Much like their football counterparts, if I ever see an extremely scarce box of Leaf gumball baseball helmets, I buy them immediately. I have seen four in my collecting life and have purchased all four of them. I'll value these at $250 each also.
Mysterious Batter Up Baseball Helmets with Candy
The item you see below is extremely rare and I have never seen another one on eBay. These are called "batter up," and they appear to be tubes of some sort of candy, with a mini MLB baseball helmet on the top. This is not exactly a complete box. There looks to be 24 candy tubes per box, and this came with 18. Please admire the old-school Padres, Marines, Astros, and Brewers logos among others. I'm not sure what year these are from, but it was from a time when there were 26 MLB teams. I'd estimate 1980 or 1981. The box and items are in perfect condition. I think I bought this on eBay via Buy it Now for $200. I have no idea its actual value, but considering its rarity, I'm valuing it at $350, though, again, I'd never sell it for that amount.
NFL Large-sized Mini-Helmets
Pictured below is the complete set of oversized mini helmets from 1978. These come with an oversized display board. The helmets are not too difficult to find, but the display board took me several years! This is quite a fun display piece, and is in great condition. The helets and the board combined are worth about $250.
1972 iHop NFL Mini-Helmet Display
This is a very attractive iHop gumball helmet display, circa 1972. The were produced before the Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccanneers were introduced in 1976. I love this display, although it sports some dirt and grime and the helmets look a bit dusty. These are exceedingly rare and I have only ever seen two on eBay. I'd estimate its value at about $300.00
Other Vintage Gumball Helmet Sets and Displays
Rare Pocket Pros Throwback Sets
This is rare First-series Pocket Pro Throwback Set. This was produced sometime in the late 1990's and comes with a beautfiul display case. These are exceedingly rare and command high prices on eBay. Individual helmets can sell for $50 or more. All-together, this set is worth $600, maybe more.
Here is the Second-series Pocket Pro Throwback Set. These sets are a bit more common and sell for around $300 per set.
This is a interesting toy set that I had never seen before. I bought it for $50 on eBay. It is a remote-control, helmet-led football game. That's all I really know about it. I know my two boys desparately wanted me to allow them to open it and play with it. While it was tempting, I ultimately rejected their overture, explaining that daddy's toys are a serious business; that only "figuratively" are they toys. The "why would you buy something and never open it" inquisitions died years ago, and luckily, my kids know me well enough to understand that there was no use in arguing; and that their hands would never get to touch even a single one of the remote control helmets.
Below is a MINT condition gumball helmet pencil sharpener set from 1979. The helmets and the display are in perfect condition, except for the fact that over the years, the Giants and Redskins left-facing logos have fallen off. In addition, the Steelers yellow stripe has detached also. This is a problem with vintage gumball helmets - the stickers often fall off over time, or, yellow over time. It probably has to do with the changing humidity, and in all honesty, the stickers can be reglued. Amnyway, this is a fairly rare item. I'd price it at least $200 dollars.
Here is another set of vintage helmets - these are from 1976. As you can see, they are good (not great) condition, and feature some really old logos such as the Bengals, Dolphins, and Oilers. You can really notice the effects of time on the white helmets as the logo stickers tend to lose their luster. Still, given its age, this set is quite attractive and in decent condition. I'd eestimate its value near $200 also.
Here is an individually packaged vintage Eagles gumball helmet pencil sharpener.
Check this out! This is a Kessler's Products Gumball Helmet Set and Display (unused) from 1970! Notice the unfolded display and the laminated instructions sheet. This product only contained the AFC teams. Notice the super vintage silver Oilers helmet, along with the Bengals and Chargers. I have no idea of the value of this item, but I'd price it at at least $300, given its condition and rarity.
One more set of gumball helmets. This 1977 specimen is in great condition.
Here is another vintage helmet set and display. This one is from 1980 or 1981 and has never been unfolded. I think it worth about $150
Vending Cards
Vending cards are the cardboard inserts that appeared on the faces of machines that dispensed capsuled toys. In the picture below is a series of vending cards. These are really cool and obscure tokens of memorabilia that enjoy a small but passionate fanbase and market. They are really, really hard to find, even on eBay. It has taken me several years to amass mini-collection pictured below. There are mostly from the early to late 70's, 80's, and maybe one or two from the 90's.There isn't alot to go on regarding their value, but I'd price the set below at about $600.00 or more.
Here is one of my latest vending cards. I was thrilled to pick this one up for only $25!. I never knew these kind of pennants were dispensed in vending machines.
Bonanza and iHop Unopened Helmets
In the 1970s, the restaurant chains Bonanza and iHop offered gumball helmets as part of their promotions. I'm not sure exactly how these were collected, but I imagine, when parents paid for their breakfast or dinners at the counter, there was some kind of display where they could also purchase these helmets for an extra quarter. Anyhow, I really liked the idea of collecting unopened iHop and Bonanza helmets, which can be found on eBay fairly regularly. They tend to be priced at anywhere between $15-$25 per package. Here are some of those I have collected. Not all are pictured. I tried to position these so the team logos would be visible. Below are Bonanza helmets, followed by iHop helmets. Note that the iHop helmets seem from a few years earlier than the Bonanza helmets. The second picture of the iHop helmets features a rare White Sand Diego Chargers gumball helmet.
Other Helmet/NFL/MLB Memorabilia
Here is an interesting item: It's a 1977 Houston Oilers helmet. I don't know much about the history of this particular item: a gumball helmet affixed to an NFL Shield, but you can see these were sold for $0.29.
Do you perhaps remember these? These are NFL pencils that many of us had as kids. This is the entire set of 28 pencils, unopened, from 1981. Believe it, or not, there is a small market for these. If you search for "vintage NFL pencils," you'll see that there is actually demand for these. Most of the listing are for the raw NFL pencils, or, for AFC or NFC pencils. Unopened sets of all 28 pencils are quite rare and can sell for up to $100!
Here is an MLB mini pennant board I picked up recently on eBay for $75.00. If you open it up, it holds the mini pennants for all the MLB teams at the time (apx. 1980). It's worth about $100.
Large-sized Helmets
These are images of large-sized helmets I own:
