The Penny King Company: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 19:40, 3 May 2017
 Letterhead  Display Card Favorite Comics | |
| Country: |  USA / English
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|---|---|
History
Charms first appeared in vending machines about 1930 in US, these were mostly imported from Japan and came with silk strings attached. The operator removed the strings before placing them in his machines. The charms were generally sold in penny vending machines with a small candy. The novelty of the charms lasted for a couple of years, but died becauce of lack of variety[1]
In 1949 the Penny King Company (Pittsburgh) started making charms for the growing vending machine market. In the beginning they contracted for molds and jobbed out the molding and plating to outside firms. The firm opened a plant in Puerto Rico for the manufacture of charms n 1951 and became a national sales agent for Acorn Charm Vendor parts and assessories in 1953. By 1955 the firm was one of the major charm manufactures and became sales agent for the Penny-Nickel Atlas Master vendor machines.
Gumball Prizes with King Feature characters
As the world's largest selection of minature charms in 1958 KFS licensed the Penny King Company to manufacture and sell buttons, rings and lockets, using 39 different King Feature characters. The 39 different characters included:
- Mandrake the Magician: Mandrake, Lothar
- The Phantom; The Phantom, Diana Palmer, Devil
- Flash Gordon: Flash Gordon, Dale Arden
- Prince Valiant: Prince Valiant
- The Lone Ranger: The Lone Ranger, Tonto
- Little Annie Rooney: Annie Rooney, Zero
- Bringing up Father: Jiggs, Maggie
- Henry: Henry, Henrietta
- The Katzenjammer Kids: Mama, Hans, Fritz, Der Captain, Der Inspector
- Popeye: Popeye the Sailor, Olive Oyl, Wimpy, Swee'Pea
- Barney Google and Snuffy Smith: Barney Google, Snuffy Smith, Loweezy (?), Jughaid and at least 3 other figures
- Tillie the Toiler: Tillie Jones, Clarence "Mac" Macpougall and at least 1 other figures
- Buzz Sawyer, Sweeny
- The Wizard of Id, The King
Charms
The various figures are printed on paper and have a plastic casings in yellow, blue, red, green and white colors. Several colored casing have diluted colors, light blue, light red, transparang red and on. It appears that it also was produced a series with a metallic looking (silver, gold or bronze) casing. Another distinct series of the charms was double sided with a clear frame, with different figures on each side.
Mandrake
Lothar
The Phantom
Diana Palmer
Devil
Flash Gordon
Dale Arden
Prince Valiant
The Lone Ranger
Tonto
Annie Rooney
Zero
Jiggs
Maggie
Henry
Henrietta
Der Captain
Der Inspector
Mama
Hans
Fritz
Popeye
Olive Oyl
Wimpy
Swee'Pea
Barney Google
Snuffy Smith
Jughaid
unknown
unknown
unknown
Tillie Jones
Clarence "Mac" Macdougall
unknown
Sweeney
unknown
unknown
Variants
Mandrake
King Comic Feature Rings
In 1959 the Penny King Company adverticed[2] the King Comic Feature Rings, with the same pictures used for the charms.
ad
Display Card
Dale Arden
King Comic Feature Buttons
The same pictures from the charms were also used on the ad for the pinback button series in 1959.
ad
Mandrake
Lothar
The Phantom
Devil
Flash Gordon
Dale Arden
