Here is my list of the top 15 greatest Pez dispensers ever. This list is just my humble opinion, and not based on anything more.
No.1 - The Political Donkey! This dispenser was the holy grail of our hobby before there was even a known example, if the story I heard was correct. There was paperwork that mentioned its existance. One was made and presented to John F. Kennedy on a trip to Austria as President of the United States, according to a press release. Many years later, the only known example (pictured here, right) was found by an employee in a desk as they were cleaning out the old pez factory. It is on display in the lobby of the new Austrian Pez factory. |  |
No.2 - Thin Space Trooper The only known example of the full body Thin Space Trooper belongs to John Laspina, and was aquired from a child of a former Pez executive. It is way cool, and there is a great picture of it, along with some other amazing space related pieces, on the cover of the Spring 2007 18th edition of John's price guide. (Yellow one in the middle, front) |  |
No.3 - Crazy Fruit Lemon All of the crazy fruit dispensers can bring high $$$, but what about a one of a kind prototype? That is exactly what Dora Dwyer found! Way way cool! |  |
No.4 - The Admiral Another great find, as he had been pictured on the side of a refills box, yet no example of the dispenser was known until Silvia Biermayr found this one of a kind jewel. He is as big of a celebrity as they come in the world of Pez. |  |
No.5 - The Thing The Softhead prototype of The Thing from the Fantastic Four is the only one of its kind known. All the softhead superheroes that were produced were DC comics characters, where this was a Marvel character. |  |
No.6 - The Original Dispenser Johann owns this one, and a rumor I heard was that he found it either in the dumpster at the pez factory, or in a bunch of stuff they were going to throw away. Anyways, it matches up spec for spec with the original drawings used to apply for the patent. Way awesome! |  |
No.7 - World's Fair Astronaut Kinda makes you sick that we get to mention Dora Dwyer's collection again, but that's how amazing her collection is! She has one of only 2 known World's Fair Astronauts (that's what makes them so special, not that the state "Tennessee" is misspelled). Hers has a blue helmet and blue stem. The more infamous one, owned by Sue Ellen Headley and Dean DuVall, has a white helmet and green stem. It recently made a stir on ebay, with the bid reaching over $30,000. Unfortunately, the top bidder was a kid in Japan playing with his father's account. None the less, this is one of the most famous and controversial dispensers. |   |
No.8 - Made in Italy Regular
Only 1 or 2 of these are known to exist, I think John Laspina may be the owner of one of these. Never seen a pic of one, but it's listed in Laspina's guide.
No.9 - Die Cut Comet Personalized Regular How sweet is this? I don't know how many of these there are, but there can't be many. Die Cuts are awesome, and this regular is no exception. I find most the regulars a little boring, but this one is definately an exception. |  |
No.10 - Lonicot Regular
Only about 4 of these exist, I think one resides in the Marilyn Kennedy collection. Lonicot is derived from the phrase "Low Nicotine" and were going to be sold with a pez style candy that contained a small amount of nicotine to help people quit smoking. The dispenser is a black stem with the raised letters "LONICOT", and has a white cap. BTW Marilyn's collection is legendary!
No.11 - Ben Hur Regular
Again, only about 4 of these are known to exist, and I believe Small Town Dave has one in his amazing collection. It has "Ben Hur" in raised letters on a red stem with a red cap.
No.12 - Make-A-Face with a red head Johann regularly puts one on eBay with a buy-it-now price of $11,000. I am not sure he has had any takers, but if there are only 2 known as he states, it probably is worth every penny. I need to win the lottery. |  |
No.13 - 1950's Clear Space Gun This is a picture of the one that sold recently for over $11,000 on eBay to Cactus Jack. Unfortuantely, there is some controversy over whether it is legitimate or not. But there are real clear ones like it, Johann has a couple. BTW, the price paid for this dispenser is the record for the highest price paid for an individual Pez dispenser. |   |
No.14 - Political Elephant
These are available with either a gold, black or grey head. There are a few spread out over several collections. I know Laspina has one, he told me a guy walked into a convention and offered it to all the dealers and he was the high bidder. Apparently, the man who sold it to him was the son of a U.S. Ambassador who aquired it in his travels.
No.15 - Black Helmet Fireman Pez Pal I am a big fan of the brave little Fireman Pez Pal, and one with a black helmet would be SWEET! The made-in-Brazil stem makes it even sweeter! |  |
Honorable Mention - Witch B Very similar to a Witch A, but enough different on both the head and the stem to make it a different dispenser. Thanks to a very poor design, the kickers would break off and split the stem, so not only is a very difficult dispenser to find, it is almost impossible to find in good shape. |  |
Honorable Mention - Oswald The only reason we know the identity of this sharply dressed cyclops is because of the surviving vending boxes. Wouldn't you love the job at Pezco of dressing up and naming the dispensers? That would be sweet! |  |
