If you were a child in the mid-to-late 20th Century, there's a strong likelihood that you took your lunch to school with you, at least for a little while. And while some certainly went with a plain old brown bag, many others decided to express themselves with a metal or plastic lunch box depicting their favorite bands, brands and characters. Like most things from childhood, those lunch boxes can carry a whole lot of nostalgic value alongside peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Which means people are often willing to shell out big bucks to reclaim them as adults. Here are some lunch boxes that are worth an insane amount of money now.
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00:00Did you carry a lunchbox as a kid? If you did, do you still have it? Is it in good condition?
00:06Because it may be astonishingly valuable if it's one of these.
00:10Batman is forever. He made his first appearance in Detective Comics in 1939 and was central
00:17to the dark and stylish 1989 film that bore his name. But in 1966, the ironic, campy,
00:24colorful live-action Batman TV show became an instant hit, and Adam West's caped crusader
00:30found his way onto a variety of merchandise. In 1966, a Batman lunchbox depicting Batman
00:38and Robin thwarting a criminal thug was sold at department stores throughout the U.S.
00:43Because the action doesn't stop on just one side, the reverse features them saving a baby
00:49from a burning building. On eBay in 2021, a well-worn Batman lunchbox could be found for
00:55under $100, but for one in great shape and complete with thermos, you can expect to pay around $400.
01:04Lost in Space was originally a low-budget, ramshackle sci-fi take on an interstellar
01:09Swiss family Robinson. And though it's a pretty familiar name today, it was canceled by CBS in
01:151968 after only three seasons of middling ratings. But upon its initial airing and despite
01:21its initial lack of massive popularity, kids could buy a lunchbox depicting the Robinsons'
01:26many promised astounding adventures on distant planets. This isn't some hinged rectangular box,
01:33but a pail with two fully illustrated scenes. The front features the Robinsons in a rover vehicle,
01:39and the other shows Professor John Robinson saving wife Maureen and son Will from a tentacled plant
01:45monster while the robot looks on and does nothing. It included a thermos, too, depicting the kind of
01:50sci-fi rockets that would bring humans to the moon. This lunchbox oozes nostalgia for 60s
01:56entertainment as well as the Space Race, and a box in great condition can sell for between $450 and
02:03$520. The animated series The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends was set up like a
02:10sketch comedy show with plenty of reoccurring characters, but perhaps none were more popular
02:15than Dudley Do-Wright. An incredibly dumb and bumbling member of the Royal Canadian Mounted
02:20Police, Dudley was forever on the hunt for the villainous Snidely Whiplash and constantly mooning
02:25over his true love, Nell Fenwick. Dudley Do-Wright broke out of Rocky and Bullwinkle to star on his
02:31very own lunchbox. This 1962 treasure features Dudley singing a tune with Nell along with his
02:37horse, named Horse, whom Dudley famously rode backward. Dudley Do-Wright carries a lot of
02:43nostalgic weight for lunchbox collectors. Add to this the fact that only a few show up at auction
02:48every year, and the winning bid on this lunchbox in a 2021 eBay auction, despite some rust and
02:54noticeable wear, was $700. Past examples have gone over $1,000, but worn-out boxes can go for as low
03:02as $200. Network primetime television could be a pretty tame place in the late 60s and early 70s,
03:09but some shows certainly skew toward an older audience. For example, Hogan's Heroes, which ran
03:15from 1965 to 1971, was about crafty Allied prisoners stuck in a World War II prisoner-of-war
03:22camp. The villains were literally Nazis, but bumbling and ineffectual ones. A period set to
03:28inappropriate comedy likely didn't attract many children, but this lunchbox, designed to look like
03:34the prisoner barracks, was certainly appealing. It featured the nefarious Colonel Clink, American
03:39Colonel Robert Hogan, and other characters going about their business on the show in an elaborately
03:44illustrated scene. Hogan's Heroes wasn't the most kid-friendly thing on television in the early 70s,
03:50but that lack of appeal to kids meant that the original merchandise made to celebrate the show
03:55became increasingly rare over the decades. In 2021, Hogan's Heroes lunchboxes sold on eBay at
04:02prices ranging from $177 to $485, mostly in the $250 range. One particularly well-preserved
04:11item escaped its owner for a whopping $765. It's not a million dollars, but...
04:17"...Ah, who needs a million dollars? It's just a lot of trouble."
04:20Back in the early 20th century, two studios were known for their brands — Disney,
04:25with its endless string of cartoons and kids' movies, and Universal, which produced some of
04:30the most enduring and highly regarded monster movies of all time. Collectively known as
04:35Universal Monsters, these scary screen icons, primarily based on classic literature,
04:41included Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, The Phantom of the Opera, The Mummy, The Creature,
04:46The Invisible Man, and The Wolfman. Portrayed onscreen by the likes of Bela Lugosi,
04:52Boris Karloff, and Lon Chaney Jr. from the 1920s through the 1950s, some of those characters
04:58appeared on this metal lunchbox, first produced in 1979. The Universal Movie Monsters lunchbox
05:04frequently appears on eBay, and in 2021, a collector could find one on eBay for just over $100.
05:11One in excellent shape sold on eBay for over $811. Not only was the thermos still there,
05:18and in great shape, but the box still had the tags left by the manufacturer.
05:23As one of the most ambitiously branded rock bands on the planet, the logo and campy horror
05:28imagery associated with the 70s arena rocker's kiss has appeared on hundreds of products,
05:33including shirts, shoes, toys, and even a comic book printed using their actual blood.
05:38It works because each of the band's four members take on the persona,
05:42costume, and makeup of a fantasy sci-fi fighter like the Star Child, Space Ace,
05:47the Catman, and the Demon. When Kiss was in its 70s heyday in wearing makeup and being
05:52real-life comic book characters, they were also pretty popular with children, which made a Kiss
05:57lunchbox a no-brainer for manufacturer Alcon and a must-have for all junior members of the Kiss Army.
06:04Dating to 1977, one model from Alcon featured a photo of Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley,
06:11and Peter Criss in full costume and makeup and striking poses on one side and performing on
06:16stage on the other. In 2021, various versions of this rock and roll relic sold on eBay from $165
06:24to $299 to $850. Why so much? That one included a Kiss thermos with an instruction booklet on
06:32its correct use. We're sure Kiss is still laughing all the way to the bank.
06:36"...why would I spend all that money?"
06:43There aren't too many characters as old as Mickey Mouse that are still around and popular today.
06:48After a star-making turn in the 1928 cartoon Steamboat Willie,
06:52the squeaky-voiced rodent has appeared in dozens of shorts and multiple TV series.
06:57But more than that, he served as an internationally recognizable mascot
07:01of the Disney brand of family entertainment. A picture of Mickey is synonymous with high-quality,
07:06kid-friendly content, and that extends to decades' worth of merchandise,
07:10from mouse-ear hats purchased at Disney theme parks to Mickey-themed lunchboxes.
07:15Back in the 1950s, lunchboxes were already catching the eyes of kids at Five and Dimes.
07:20Depicting a wagon occupied by Disney co-stars Huey, Dewey, and Louie and pulled by Pluto the dog,
07:26the box shows a grinning Mickey running behind it on his way to school.
07:30On the reverse, Donald Duck enjoys a picnic with his nephews.
07:33In 2021, an eBay bidder could land a rusty model for $20,
07:38or ones in substantially better shape for somewhere in the $125 to $150 range.
07:44With a matching metal thermos, some examples have gone as high as $799.
07:50Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? first aired in 1969, featuring a talking dog and four young people
07:56traveling around in a van called the Mystery Machine, unmasking crooked land developers who
08:01stage believable supernatural phenomena. A strange concept, but because the franchise is so consistently
08:07visible with new versions of the classic show, remnants of the show's early days grow more
08:12valuable every year. One of the most popular Scooby-Doo-related items, both then and now,
08:17is a King Seedy thermos-made lunchbox from 1973 depicting Scooby and Shaggy in their natural
08:23element, running away in fear from a cliffside headless horseman. The reverse depicts the whole
08:29gang, and their accompanying drink holder features a portrait of a much calmer Shaggy and Scooby.
08:35The 2021 eBay price range for this lunchbox, in yellow trim with an included green thermos,
08:41ranged from $102 up to $250. However, a pristine box, with the manufacturer's tag still attached,
08:49brought in $995, and a variation with orange trim and thermos is also available to collectors
08:56with deep pockets. As beauty pageants are increasingly considered old-fashioned,
09:02the annual Miss America contest calls itself a scholarship contest nowadays.
09:06It's nowhere near the massively popular cultural event it was in the mid-20th century,
09:11when the young woman crowned Miss America was often launched into celebrity,
09:15such as actor Leigh Merriweather and singer Vanessa Williams.
09:19The whole Miss America brand was such a big deal that it could generate merchandise like
09:23lunchboxes. Countless future Miss America contestants could carry around a pink lunchbox
09:28bearing the words, Miss America, and the image of a nameless young beauty queen,
09:33carrying a bouquet, adorned with a sash, tiara, and long gloves.
09:37Though unspecified, the illustrated Miss America bears a striking resemblance to Miss America 1972
09:43Lori Leigh Schaefer. It's not too hard to find one of these Miss America lunchboxes from 1972.
09:49In 2021 alone, they've sold for as little as $15, with several in the $20 to $50 range.
09:56One seller made a fortune when they sold their Miss America lunchbox for just over $1,000.
10:02It was so costly and valuable because it was in near-mint condition and still had
10:06the thermos instruction booklet, an unused name tag, from nearly 50 years ago.
10:12Branded lunchboxes didn't always feature a character or some kind of TV or movie property.
10:17They could also depict a popular car or vehicle, loved by kids and adults alike.
10:23German automaker Volkswagen, known in the mid-20th century for the Beetle and the Bus,
10:27turned the latter into a lunchbox. Handed out as a premium at VW dealerships in the 1960s,
10:33it was made by Omni Graphics and came with a two-tone thermos decorated with a VW logo badge
10:39on the lid. Numerous people of a certain age look back fondly on the VW Bus, as well as anything
10:45that looks like a VW Bus, creating a market for authentic 60s memorabilia, like lunchboxes.
10:51In 2021, a Volkswagen Bus lunchbox, missing the thermos, sold on eBay for $250.
10:58A complete set was substantially more expensive, at $1,191.
11:03Star Trek, now a mega-franchise, began humbly as a charming, brainy, allegorical sci-fi series
11:11that aired to critical acclaim but low ratings for three seasons on NBC in the late 1960s.
11:17It became a cultural phenomenon slowly, thanks to millions discovering it in reruns
11:22and the appearance of Trek-centric fan conventions, the first of their kind.
11:26That slow burn of popularity caused most anything associated with the original series,
11:32or what poorly-selling rarities and relics remained,
11:35into extremely valuable treasures to hardcore fans who wanted a piece of the original.
11:40In 1968, Aladdin produced a metal Star Trek lunchbox which featured a large,
11:48fantastical image of the Starship Enterprise on one side,
11:51with artistic renderings of Spock and Captain Kirk on the other side.
11:56Final selling price in one particular 2021 eBay auction? $1,513,
12:02though most complete sets don't break $1,000. One without the thermos moved on eBay in 2021 for a
12:09still-hefty $1,250, but most incomplete sets top out at around $600.
12:16As the first major American superhero and DC Comics flagship character,
12:21Superman has been consistently popular since his introduction in print in 1938.
12:26Since then, The Man of Steel has been the subject of a hit radio show,
12:30numerous blockbuster films, and in the 1950s, the syndicated television series
12:35Adventures of Superman. Starring George Reeves as Superman,
12:39the fantastical series was extremely favorable with children, as were tie-in products.
12:44The show was such a hit that countless school-age baby boomers had to get their
12:48hands on a Superman lunchbox, beginning in 1954. Made out of aluminum and manufactured by ADCO,
12:55one side features a comic book-style Superman flying up to fight a giant robot with laser
13:00beam eyes. On the reverse, some of Superman's generic greatest hits,
13:04punching through a brick wall, busting through chains, and preventing a plane from crashing.
13:09Just like Superman, the prices paid for that lunchbox are out of this world.
13:14In 2021, examples of this box in good condition have sold from $1,100 to $1,350.
13:22Among their many innovations, the Beatles were one of the first widely marketed rock acts in history.
13:29Decades before new kids on the block bedsheets or NSYNC trapper keepers, companies made a bundle
13:34selling cheap stuff to kids and teens bearing the faces of the Fab Four in their early mop-top years.
13:40Aladdin Industries, a Nashville-based lunchbox company,
13:43cashed in on the Beatles' fad and put out a line of lunchboxes in 1965.
13:48Many wound up used to smithereens or rusted away into nothingness, but the ones that did survive
13:53are valuable because of their rarity and how they strike up a nostalgia for a bygone era.
13:59One side of the box features the open-mouthed faces of the four Beatles,
14:02and the other imagines their mid-performance. Sure, these world-famous musicians don't look
14:08quite right, but that doesn't affect the value of the lunchbox. Called one of the
14:12rarest and most popular lunchboxes on the planet by The Warman's Lunchboxes Field Guide,
14:17these Beatles lunchboxes, complete with thermos, sold at prices ranging from $200 to $1,250 in 2021.
14:26One seller, who purported theirs to be in better condition than the same ones sitting
14:30in the Smithsonian, unloaded theirs for $1,475 — far better than the monkeys ever did.
14:38You like the monkeys?
14:40What do we got here?
14:41I'm interested in selling my Jetsons lunchbox.
14:45In 1962, the Jetsons debuted on ABC, taking place in the space-age future,
14:50with elevated homes, flying cars, domestic robots, and extreme automation. But the show
14:56wasn't a hit on par with its Stone Age counterpart, the Flintstones, and was canceled after a single
15:01season. It stands to reason that the stuff associated with an unpopular, short-lived show
15:06didn't sell a ton, sending what few Jetsons items that did make it out of the store into basements,
15:11closets, and garages. But later, the Jetsons became a cult hit due to reruns and was revived
15:16for syndication in the 1980s, reawakening interest in both new and well-preserved treasures bearing
15:22the likenesses of George, Jane, Judy, and Elroy Jetson, their talking dog Astro, and their robot
15:28maid Rosie. A vintage Jetsons lunchbox would become especially desirable. Similar to the
15:34old lunchboxes used by construction workers and laborers, this one is in a futuristic style,
15:39and includes a thermos. One of the most collector-coveted vintage lunchboxes,
15:44a few flew off of eBay in 2021, all earning their sellers big stacks of cash. Complete
15:49sets of Jetsons lunchboxes and their thermoses blasted off to buyer's homes for prices ranging
15:55from $750 all the way up to $1,700. Even one in poor condition, missing the thermos, can fetch
16:02over $400. Classic metal lunchboxes are often not in great condition today, so a lunchbox that has
16:10defied the odds makes it all the more valuable. Take this one depicting the characters from the
16:14campy, low-budget, Saturday morning action-adventure series Land of the Lost. The show ran for three
16:20seasons in the 1970s, which made for a mountain of Land of the Lost lunchboxes floating around.
16:26Depending on the level of wear, surviving examples have sold on eBay in 2021 for
16:31anywhere from $57 to $112. Boxes in excellent, near-perfect condition commanded much bigger
16:38prices. One sold for $1,400, and another for $2,275 because it still had its tags,
16:47indicating almost no use at all. The older a piece of pop-cultural ephemera, the more valuable
16:54it can get. That's because time, rust, neglect, the urge to clean out basements, attic scarages,
17:00and forgotten and abandoned storage units, means objects disappear at an alarming rate.
17:05Plastic lunchboxes from the 80s are usually less valuable than metal ones from the 50s because they
17:10were produced in much larger quantities and because plastic sticks around forever. So a
17:15metal lunchbox that's still relatively well-preserved, bearing the images of a long-forgotten
17:19pop-cultural phenomenon, can only be valuable. In 2021, an eBay seller offered up a slightly
17:25scratched, barely-rusted vintage box from 1957, adorned with the image of a smiling,
17:30beret-wearing, plaid-skinned elephant named Toppy. The box, also decorated with red balloons and a
17:36white bubble pattern on the sides, included a matching metal thermos in even better shape,
17:41bearing the image of the same happy elephant. Toppy appeared on numerous products that faded
17:46from memory. Promotional items made by Kroger supermarkets, redeemable by stamp book collecting.
17:52Nobody in the 50s probably thought these would be worth much, but they were wrong.
17:56Not too many Toppy lunchboxes show up on eBay, but in 2021, a latter-day reproduction sold for
18:01about $127. The real, vintage item, however, was much more valuable, auctioned online for an
18:08astounding $6,500. Collectors have called this the pinnacle of all lunchbox collecting, and it's
18:15thought that about a dozen exist today. Even those in bad condition can fetch as high as $4,000.