From cards to cereal boxes, yesterday’s trash has become today’s treasure.
DailyMail.com spoke with Nora Curl, a collectibles expert who appraises about 1,000 items a month through JustAnswer.com and AppraiseAntique.com.
Curl said, “Whodathunkit! That’s the phrase that comes to mind when seemingly casual, throwaway items turn out to be quite valuable on the collector’s resale market.”
But seemingly worthless disposable items, which some might consider trash, can be worth a surprising amount of money, she said.
Grain boxes
According to Curl, cereal boxes featuring pop culture icons can be worth thousands of dollars, or even tens of thousands of dollars.
A 1935 Wheaties box featuring baseball legend Lou Gehrig sold for $7,680 at Julien’s Auctions in 2019, despite an estimate of $1,000 to $2,000.
A 1935 Wheaties box featuring baseball legend Lou Gehrig sold for $7,680 at Julien’s Auctions in 2019
Curl said: “If you’re already into buying, collecting and reselling, you may know that you can make a profit on Wheaties cereal boxes, especially the boxes featuring pop culture icons and sports figures, like the inimitable Betty White, whose Wheaties box sold for $10,240 in 2022.”
A Kelloggs Super Mario box sold on eBay for $45,000 in 2018
But Curl says the Holy Grail of collectible cereal boxes is actually Kellogg’s — with the Super Mario brothers on it.
One copy sold on eBay for $45,000 in 2018.
Old casino chips
Many card players like to keep a few chips as a souvenir of a good time at the table. But old chips, especially those from decades ago, can be very valuable.
$5 chip from The Sands sold for $8,101 on Ebay in 2018
$1000 token from Frontier Casino sold for $35,000 in January 2024
Curl said, “If I were a gambler and had won a few poker chips in a casino while vacationing in Las Vegas in the 1950s, I would have definitely cashed in my $5 token.
“But if you keep it as a reminder of a good time in Vegas, you can look forward to 50 years from now, because in 2018, a $5 chip from The Sands sold on eBay for $8,101.”
“So check the chips in your home because the chips that come from old Vegas Strip landmarks can be very valuable.”
A set of 7 poker chips, ranging in value from 50 cents to $5, from The Sahara sold for $8,700 in 2021.
Curl said: ‘Other big winning chips include a $1,000 token from Frontier Casino that sold for $35,000 in January 2024, a $5 Cowgirl chip from The Sands that sold for $7,255 in 2021, two $1 Riverboat Casino tokens that sold for $5,389 in 2016, and a $5 Fremont Hotel chip that sold for $2,402 in 2022.’
Cult classic VHS tapes
You may have a treasure trove of valuable children’s films.
Streaming has replaced videotapes, but VHS tapes have become a sought-after item among collectors.
Classics like Back to the Future and cult films like the original Fast and the Furious fetch thousands of dollars on eBay.
But before you rush to the garage or start rummaging in the attic, proceed with caution: the condition of the tapes is decisive for the sales price.
These are the most sought after tapes:
1. “Back to the Future” — If you could travel back in time to 1985 in the DeLorean, tell yourself not to open your copy. It sells for $1,000.
2. “The Fast and the Furious” — When it came out in the early 2000s, many of us were already into DVDs. A VHS version of this Paul Walker and Vin Diesel classic can set you back a cool $1,000.
3. “Teen Wolf” — A first pressing of the VHS tape featuring the iconic cover of Michael J. Fox baring his chest just sold for $1,190 on eBay.
4. “Gremlins” — America fell in love with those furry, evil little menaces in this ’80s staple. A copy now costs $1,250.
5. “First Blood” — Sylvester Stallone was in his element. A copy of this gem just sold for $1,525. The original VHS tape still had the $29.95 price tag on the front. How’s that for a rating?
6. “Halloween II” — An unopened copy of this hit sequel recently sold for $1,525.
7. “Dumbo” — A limited edition featuring a Mickey Mouse ornament recently sold for $1,575.50.
8. “Conan the Barbarian” — Who doesn’t love an old-fashioned, enemy-crushing masterpiece? A new copy is worth $1,725.
9. “Taxi Driver” — First pressings and early releases go for a pretty penny. A first release of the Robert De Niro classic sold for $1,905.
10. “The Goonies” — Recently sold for $4,050. As the saying goes, “Goonies never die.” And neither does the market value of this VHS tape.
11. “A Nightmare on Elm Street” — Calling all Freddy Krueger fans, a new copy recently sold on eBay for $5,000.
Packets and cards with chewing gum
According to Curl, gum bags and collectible cards can be worth huge sums of money these days.
Curl said, “Remember those TMJ-inducing sticks of Bazooka Joe gum? The bonus when you opened the signature red, white and blue package was a little comic strip printed on wax paper. I always kept mine neatly stacked in a little trinket box.”
In 2010, a single Nolan Ryan bubblegum comic card from that set sold at the same auction house for $13,200
Vintage Bazooka Joe comics are a real collector’s market.
Today, most copies only fetch a few dollars each, but in 1973, Topps also jumped on the comic card collecting bandwagon when they created a test set of baseball-themed gumballs.
The test set, which was not really released to the general public on a large scale, consisted of 24 cards.
In 2010, a set of 24 pieces sold for a total of $17,625 at Robert Edward Auctions.
Vintage Bazooka Joe comics have a real collectors market
In 2010, a single Nolan Ryan bubble gum strip card from that set sold at the same auction house for $13,200.
Soup ads
Curl said, “Almost everyone is familiar with Andy Warhol and his ubiquitous Campbell Soup can paintings.”
Did you know that in the 1960s, the Campbell’s Soup Company itself decided to capitalize on the pop art trend by releasing a sleeveless A-line disposable paper dress featuring repeating images of their soup cans?
The ‘disposable’ paper dress is worth a lot of money
‘Yellow lines were printed on the bottom as a guide to cutting the dress to a suitable Twiggy-inspired mini dress length. The Pop Art “Souper Dress” was available by mail order from Campbell’s and served as a clever free billboard.
The paper dresses are meant to be thrown away, Curl says, but today they can change hands for enormous sums of money.
She said: ‘Examples that have been kept in excellent condition have sold for between $4,000 and $6,600, and they remain iconic and fashionable to this day… some garments just never go out of style!’