Articles & Features

2005 Review - The year in crayons

2005 will go down in the books as a bargain year compared to the years preceding it. Not a single crayon auction went over $200 in this year whereas in 2004, the top 8 were over that amount. Still, lots of good crayon boxes did show up. Let’s take a look at some of the year’s top auctions:

Ok, the top prize went to the prototype box for the Crayola No 72 coloring set. This particular box is unique because while it was the actual prototype box made for the 72 crayon set, the prototype was actually only 64 colors. Somewhere between the time of this prototype and the actual version that they went with, they decided to add eight duplicate crayons to the set. These eight were simply colors that everyone used a lot of such as black and blue. Also, this particular box had it’s coloring book on the outside of the box. The window in the house was much smaller and it didn’t contain the boy and dog as the later retail version did. Inside, this was a hand made crayon holder set. The colors included the rare Light Blue crayon so coveted by color collectors. Surprisingly, this box only sold for $182.50; a veritable bargain compared to other years. Next up was another significant box. It’s the original Gold Medal No 8 box with the eagle side of the gold medal. Clearly the first box of this series, it was featured only on the No 8 box and no other size. When they introduced the No 16 box, they switched all of the line to the other side of the gold medal. What was once thought of as extremely rare is now only scarce as several examples showed up on ebay over the course of the year and another was discovered out on the web. This was clearly one of the top condition examples of the box and fetched a respectable $172.49. Our next box isn’t really a box at all although it did contain crayons. These Brodhaven wooden figure canisters have really gone up in value over the last few years with most of them fetching between $100-200. This one was a unique color and unique neckline for them and it ended at $161.08 to take third highest for the year. In fourth position, the first time the early example of the Crayola No 50 Little Folks Outfit box surfaced. The newer versions of these show up from time to time (they are the white boxes with the dutch girl). These earlier versions were known via price lists, but none had yet surfaced. This one was in particularly good condition and fetched $155.50. The No 25 equivalent has yet to surface still.

In the number five position was a unique crayon set for Popeye. There are many examples of crayon boxes for Popeye and they have been made under a couple of crayon manufacturers over the years. This particular large set is the only one that has surfaced though and as such, it fetched an impressive $150. Another Brodhaven boy fetched the sixth position and had several bidders vying for it as it was fairly unique looking compared to many of the other Brodhaven examples where they used certain girls/boys and changed up colors and accessories. In the number seven position came a rare Canadian Crayola Gemtone box. This is one of only two that are known out there in collector land (although another person does have the crayons but not the box). This fetched a respectable $115.62. My earlier prediction that the Colors of Binney & Smith wouldn’t be seen in the future top 20 wasn’t quite accurate but for the first time in a couple of years, the list wasn’t dominated by them and one was actually offered for $150 but with no takers at all. However, given the low auction prices for this year, there was one that slipped into the number eight position with a $100 final price. Next up was the ever popular Peter Pan set. These usually always fetch a decent price and this one went for $95. Another Brodhaven showed up in tenth place. This particular example, while by no means the most unusual or interesting of the Brodhaven figures, was the result of a mini bidding war and topped out at $83.82. In eleventh was a different Japanese 8ct box with Tip on it. Though it seemed like several collectors were vying over it, it did come in with a respectable $77.50. Oh, and this marks the first year in four that a Superman box hasn’t made the top list.

The top 20 crayon auctions for 2005 were:

1. $182.50, Crayola No 72 original prototype box, 2/2/05

2. $172.49, Crayola No 8 (original box with the Eagle side of the Gold Medal), 9/4/05

3. $161.08, Brodhaven Wooden figure (girl), 2/12/05

4. $155.50, Crayola Little Folks Outfit No 50 (older version with girl and flowers), 5/23/05

5. $150.00, Popeye Paint and Crayon Set, 3/30/05

6. $135.50, Brodhaven Wooden figure (boy), 10/2/05

7. $115.62, Crayola Gemtone (Canadian) 7/6/05

8. $100.00, Colors of Binney & Smith employee tin, 3/5/05

9. $95.00, Peter Pan Crayon and Stencil Set, 5/14/05

10. $83.82, Brodhaven Wooden figure (girl), 4/18/05

11. $77.50, Crayola No 8 (Japanese version with Tip), 2/5/05

12. $76.00, Crayola No 64 (Japanese version), 6/4/05

13. $74.95, Crayola No 72 (white version with no sticker, sealed), 10/3/05

14. $71.70, Wyatt Earp Crayon and Stencil Set, 6/3/05

15. $69.99, Crayola Silver Swirls 16ct with no “New”, 3/7/05

16. $66.00, Crayola Giant Chest of Crayons (Cigar box), 4/2/05

17. $65.00, Colors of Binney & Smith Tin, 2/19/05

18. $63.50, Crayola Big Box Gross Boite (Limited Edition), 5/24/05

19. $63.00, Crayola No 480 (two sealed round canisters with straight lettering on brand name (not arched), 3/9/05

20. $62.51, Brodhaven Wooden figure (black bellhop), 1/29/05

Here’s a look at the rest of the top 20. The only one worth noting here was that the Crayola Big Box from Canada (the Limited Edition) was a bargain price really.

And here are some items that came out of 2005 that I thought deserved another look even though the price didn’t get them in the top 20: