These little lanterns are only a couple inches high. They show up on a fairly regular basis in box lots at auctions and on table tops at flea markets. Do you know what they are?
The lanterns are little candy containers, meant to hold tiny multicolor beads of candy. There are many other varieties of these candy containers, and they are a popular collectible. I've sold trains, bunnies, cars, and other appealing items.
Here is a candy war tank filled with the original multicolor candy pellets that came in the containers:
Photo Credit: Ruby Lane
The tank is priced at $49, because the candy is still inside, held there by the original cardboard bottom that pops off underneath the tank. I would probably price my little lanterns at about $14 each here in Michigan. Other candy containers with reticulated (moving) parts, such as planes with propellers and telephones with dials can be valued close to $100.
Unfortunately, some of the candy containers have been reproduced, especially the hens-on-nests and bunnies. I read somewhere that the repros have a strange oily feeling to the glass, and I've actually come across some that did have this odd quality, although it was subtle.
Mitzi
