Vintage Christmas Collecting Series | Crazy4Me - The Modern Bombshell Lifestyle by: Yasmina Greco

This will Shock you! Collecting Starbucks City Coffee Mugs for a Major Jolt

April 8, 2022 By: Fan

The hot collectible these days are the Starbucks City Coffee Mugs. The first City collection was introduced in 1995 and was the ‘Icon Series’ followed by the ‘Collage Series’ and then the ‘Skyline Series’. Now there is the jumbo-sized ‘City Mugs Series’.

My research as of the writing of this article discovered a auction back in 2010 where a rare 1994 Starbucks City Mug Minneapolis St. Paul, sold for $1,500. It is also rumored that one sold prior for $2,000. In 2004 a woman paid upwards of $1,000 for one of the Starbucks City mugs. In 2009 eBay auction a 1994 New Orleans 20 oz. mug that displayed a Bourbon Street sign sold for over $528.00 and in another auction another mug of the same city sold for over $800! As of the writing of this article, there is a 1994 New Orleans Starbucks City Mug on eBay for $645.00.

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The first version of the Starbucks Coffee Istanbul mug is pretty rare and hard to find and is really neat as it has a depiction of the Evil Eye on the mug and the Evil Eye is a common symbol amongst the countries in the Middle East and Mediterranean. There is an Istanbul mug on eBay right now for $499.00! Starbucks Barcelona 1994 Series Prototype City Mug on eBay for $499.00. This particular Barcelona mug is rare and collectible because it was a prototype at only 14oz. rather than the typical 16oz. and the bottom of this mug is blank.

Another collectible mug right now is the Starbucks City Mug – Lisboa/Lisbon Portugal and on eBay it is currently $499 and has bids, wonder how high it will go!

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If you have been collecting the Starbucks City Mugs your collection at auction can net you some amazingly high dollars! Right now on eBay there is a listing for ‘48 Starbucks Skyline Series City Mugs Made in 2000’ and the current price is $10,000 and includes all these mugs: Alaska, Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Calgary w/ inscription, Canada, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Headquarters, Honolulu, Houston, Indianapolis, Lake Tahoe, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, Montreal, Napa Valley, New Orleans, New York w/ large logo, Niagara Falls, Palm Springs, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pike Place Market w/ inscription, Pittsburgh, Portland, Raleigh, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco w/ large logo, Seattle w/ sea plane, St. Louis, St. Paul, Tampa, Toronto w/ & w/out inscription, Vancouver w/ inscription, Victoria w/ inscription, Washington D.C.

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In short, your Starbucks mugs can worth a lot of money so don’t throw them out or get rid of them. Do a little research to determine the value and keep them safe from damage and stains. You could be collecting your way to Big Bucks!!

Pics from:

http://purplehazenz.tripod.com/
http://www.mymetrophoto.com/archives/3806
http://custommugs.pro/starbucks-city-mug-collection/
http://starbuckscitymugs.wordpress.com/
http://chickyjava.blogspot.com/2011/01/starbucks-mugs-from-around-world.html

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Thrifting Vintage Christmas Decorations: NOEL Sets from the 1950s-1960s

November 26, 2021 By: Fan

Forget about the new and what everyone else is doing. If you’re a true vintage lover then these old time Christmas decorations are just what you need to create that classic feel in your home this holiday season. Stock up now because most of these items will be gone by the end of November!

Hurry, don’t miss out on all the nostalgia!

Today’s post in our 2021 Vintage Christmas Collecting Series features some of my favorite vintage Noel sets that date to the 1950s-1960s and feature candle holders, bells, and figurines. Some of these sets were featured in last year’s Vintage Christmas Collecting Series of 2020 but have been updated with current pricing and colorways. When it comes to vintage Noel collectibles there are so many varieties and themes from Santa Claus, Elves, Poodles, Snowmen, Angels, Candy Canes, and even Pixies that there really is something for everyone and you can easily have a theme each year for your holiday decorating too!!

Note: Blog post has a lot of photos and pricing source is recent Ebay, Etsy, Worthpoint, and my own personal sales data.

One sure way to any collector’s heart is items that come with their original boxes. For me, the box can also be used as part of your vintage holiday decor as they usually have timeless graphics that add so much charm to your displays. Since these vintage items are usually 70 yrs old, if you do find an original box it will probably have some wear and tear or even water damage from being stored in basements and attics and that is completely okay and in my opinion, adds that much more to the story and history of the item.

Here are some of my very favorite Noel sets from my personal collection and I think they are just dynamite. Each set is so unique and has loads and loads of vintage Christmas charm. I actually have them up year-round in my cabinet and they always make me smile when I stop and admire them.

Stacked Santa’s NOEL Totem Pole Candle Holders

Vintage Christmas NOEL Santa Candleholders Napco Brinns

Near-and-dear to my heart are these vintage Santa Claus stacked NOEL totem pole candle holders. These have such fun, witty, retro charm. Pictured are two matching pair made by Tilso in Japan in the 1950s. The Santa’s have gold little curly-q’s in their beards, have expressive eyes, and each hold a letter to spell NOEL. Tilso sets (sometimes referred to as Brinns) tend to fetch $225-$300 each, having the original box really can impact the price.

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Vintage Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

November 3, 2021 By: Fan

Today’s post is about the most famous reindeer of all – Rudolph. The reindeer with the shiny red nose that leads Santa Claus on his sleigh ride around the world in just one night. Rudolph has been sharing his charm with us all since 1939. It wasn’t too long after, that Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer would become a part of Christmas for families all over the world.

Welcome to the 2021 vintage Christmas collecting series. This is our second post in our series for 2021. Our first post is all about Holt Howard Starry Eyed Santa and you can find it here. If you’d like to review our 2020 six-part guide you can find that here and learn about vintage Christmas collectibles from the 1950s-1960s.

Rudolph was created by Robert L. May, who worked as a copywriter for the Montgomery Ward department store chain and published the story in a brochure for promotional purposes in 1939. The store began preparing for Christmas almost one year earlier when they hired May to write a Christmas story that could be purchased by customers.

Christmas giftware, decorations, and ceramics were at their peak of cuteness (my opinion) in the 1950s-1960s. And it was George Zolton Lefton who founded the Lefton China Company in 1939 in Chicago, Illinois and produced many items from dinnerware sets to Christmas decorations and everything in between and, that includes the Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer set.

Lefton’s Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer set includes:

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer bowl
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer mug
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer salt and pepper shakers
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer planter (Rudolph’s nose lights up)

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Holt-Howard Christmas Collectibles and Price Guide: Starry Eyed Santa

October 27, 2021 By: Fan

Holt-Howard Starry Eyed Santa Collection

Collecting vintage Holt-Howard Christmas ceramics is a great way to enjoy the holidays. It was the Holt-Howard company that first began creating and selling the well-known Pixieware collectibles back in 1958. The items were manufactured in Japan for affordability, but they were made from high-quality ceramics that were then sold in the US as affordable giftware. The Holt-Howard company added many different pieces to their catalog that followed the same quirky and fun designs including Christmas ceramics that are still in high demand today. Follow this guide to collecting Holt-Howard like a pro.

Welcome to the 2021 vintage Christmas collecting series. This is our first post in our series for 2021. If you’d like to review our 2020 six-part guide you can find that here and learn about vintage Christmas collectibles from the 1950s-1960s.

You can’t have Christmas without Santa Claus and there is no Santa as whimsical and charming as the Holt-Howard Starry Eyed Santa line of Christmas ceramics. It’s easy to see why, with his amusing charm, Mid-Century atomic starburst eyes, merry whiskers, and gold flecks, Santa Claus exudes wonderful kitschy cuteness, and many can’t wait to grow their collections with this range. The Starry-Eyed Santa has always been incredibly collectible and highly desired by collectors but this year his popularity has dramatically increased, and prices have skyrocketed.

Holt-Howard Starry Eyed Santa Candle Holder Planter

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Collecting Vintage Christmas Year Round

December 31, 2020 By: Fan

Yasmina Greco Crazy4Me Vintage Christmas

Hello again my friends, I hope you all had a marvelous Christmas and that Santa was good to you all!! As I put the finishing touches on post number six, the final post of our Vintage Christmas Collecting series, it’s New Year’s Eve as I sit at my desk surrounded by my vintage treasures (vintage Santa’s, snowmen, shopper girls, bottle brush trees and my vintage candy cane holders) and want to thank you all for your lovely comments and questions along the way of the collecting series. I have truly enjoyed putting the series together and hope you’ve benefited from some of my tips and enjoyed seeing pictures of my collections. I wish you all a Happy New Year and hope that 2021 is good to us all!!

I collect vintage Christmas all year round. As you know from my previous posts, I am obsessed with vintage Christmas items and the hunt is really part of the fun. As our digital worlds keep moving forward, it actually makes searching for vintage Christmas items a little easier and simpler as we have access to wonderful resources that are available 24/7 and 365 days a year and spans the entire globe!!

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Collecting Vintage Christmas Angels

December 17, 2020 By: Fan

Christmas is just one week away!! I don’t know where the month has gone but in one week it will be Christmas. I hope you have been following my Vintage Christmas Collecting Series where I have been sharing my collections and providing tips on collecting vintage Christmas items and I would love to hear from you so please send me an email or reach out to me on social media @crazy4me or @spicyatomicprincess and let me know.

Holt-Howard Ermine Angela Salt and Pepper Shakers — Holt-Howard Ermine Angels Salt and Pepper Shakers

Today’s blog post is for week four in our Vintage Christmas Collecting Series and today it is all about collecting vintage Christmas angels as Christmas and angels really go hand-in-hand. The majority of vintage angels in my collection date to the 1950s and were made in Japan by Napco, Norcrest, Ucago, Holt-Howard and Lefton when mid-century modern and kitsch were all the rage. Some angels have no markings and some are marked Japan or have a paper label that says Japan. Vintage Christmas angels have a lot of the similar spaghetti trim detailing with sponged gold accents like the Christmas decorations made during the era. Some angels are in the form of bells, Noel sets, salt and pepper shakers, and others are figurines. So far, in all my years of collecting, I have only ever come across only a couple of brunette angels and all the others have been blondes so, the brunette haired ones are the rarer ones.

Here is a super darling trio of baby angel boys made by Lefton and they each hold a holiday element like a present, candy cane and stocking and a wreath.

This brunette beauty is made by Napco and she has her eyes lowered, holds a lovely Christmas greetings wreath and presents. This angel is quite fancy with so much spaghetti trim on her robe that has the lovely gold sponged details and her wings are one of the most ornate pair I have seen on an angel as they are highly detailed and so very intricate.

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