Cracker Jack Packaging Question

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Posted By: Josh A.

I have noticed that every once in a while, there is a sealed pack of tobacco, with a card inside.
This led me to wonder "Has there ever been a sealed Cracker Jack box from either '14 of '15 with a card inside that has come up for auction, or someone might have in their collection?"

Just curious, I imagine that would be a fairly interesting piece of memorabilia.

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Posted By: Marc S.

I don't think that caramel popcorn necessarily lends itself to safe storage techniques for 90+ years....

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Posted By: Rhys

I have never seen an unopened package of ANY type of moist candy from before WW1 and I have been to thousands of antique shows and shops. It simply wont last, bugs will get to it, it will mold or mildew etc.

However, I have also NEVER seen an empty package of Cracker Jacks from before the 1930's. There was an old Charlie Chaplin moovie I watched once where he buys his girlfriend a box of cracker jacks and the movie was made in 1917-18 if you want to see what the packaging looks like.

Rhys

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Posted By: Judge Dred

90 year old CJ - I'd be interested to see what's left.

In the 80's I found a Colgan's Chip tin at an antique store. I thought it was a good find until I opened it. It had the gum and a Colgan's Chip baseball card inside. After that I thought it was a great find. The gum is still in round slabs and it didn't appear to be too brittle. I wouldn't exactly want to try it out though. Has anyone ever opened a pack of Topps cards (more than 10 years old) and ate the gum? I bet someone has... admit it.

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Posted By: Greg Ecklund

I ate the gum from a pack of 1978 Topps cards that I bought a few years ago. Whatever makes it chewy was completely gone - it just fell apart in my mouth and dissolved.

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Posted By: jackgoodman

make a big deal of buying an unopened Topps 1952 wax pack, then with great ceremony (many people standing around his table) while he opened the pack and flipped thru the cards slowly one by one......then not finding anything extraodinary, popped the gum into his mouth?????

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Posted By: Chris

I opened a pack of '79 Topps a few weeks back and couldn't resist. Greg's right -- once you bite into it it's really less "gum" and more small thin sugar-esque concrete chips.

Now that I think about it, it's really not all the different from a 2005 piece of Bazooka straight of the shelf.

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Posted By: Trae R.

Haha - I have some unopened 1978 Topps Comics gum packages - they are like rock hard chunks of gum with a baseball card'ish wax paper comic wrapped around it. I think I'd break my teeth if I tried to put one down. Actually come to think of it they are in pretty darned good shape too - would GAI grade them? They are approximately 1.5 inches wide by 1 inch tall, and about a half inch in breadth... still "sealed".

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Posted By: Julie

I have a pink and a green one (pink one's rusty). Who was on the chip, and what sort of condition was it in? Was there any barrier between the gum and the chip?

Ben's old Tin Top Meyers--I gave it to him (I hope I gave him more than THAT) for handling a bunch of auctions for me.

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Posted By: Judge Dred

Julie,

It wasn't unopened. The picture below shows two pieces of gum and a paper insert that was placed between the gum and the tin. The overall condition of the tin is a bit worn as can be seen by the lid in the scan.

Actually, I think it may have belonged to a pitcher that used to throw a spitball. It shows signs of nervous fingernail ticking where the paint is chipped off the container. I was wondering if I should submit it for authentication as a "game used" tin but then the way things are going these days I'm afraid it may be rejected and then an offer placed on it. I would then sell it only to find out that Proctor and Gamble (the last company to own the Colgan's label) purchased it for a princely sum from the authenticator that told me it wasn't a game used tin, to begin with - I digress.

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Posted By: Judge Dred

Josh,

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hijack your thread. I thought it was an interesting question about the CJ. Somewhere out there in an attic is a box of that stuff with the skelatal remains of a smiling mouse that got stuck in the box but had a satisfying final meal next to the Joe Jackson card (1914, of course).

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Posted By: shellyjaffe

Here is the history of Cracker Jake.http://www.tias.com/mags/cjca/cjcahistory.htm