Spent $900 on a box of WWII chewing gum...

Discussions about US MREs and other US rations
Phu_Bai
Posts: 48
Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2021 7:23 pm

Spent $900 on a box of WWII chewing gum...

Post by Phu_Bai » Tue Jan 25, 2022 10:45 pm

Anybody know anything about this. Seems like an extremely rare piece. There are four pieces of gum to each pack.

Description: "Wrigley’s Army Ration Packaging - 12 packs of P.K. Gum all sealed inside.

Wrigley’s WWII dated wartime tan packaging, with logo and colored letter on packaging. Marked Wrigley’s on back panel but had some slight tape damage. Marked in pencil 4/13/1945 on bottom side. Some slight wear and staining, but I’ve only seen this packaging for sale once before, may have been a special event, promotion, USO event or prototype."
Attachments
s-l1600.jpg
zxzx.jpg

Fallout420
Posts: 107
Joined: Mon May 27, 2019 6:13 pm
Location: Tampa, FL

Re: Spent $900 on a box of WWII chewing gum...

Post by Fallout420 » Wed Jan 26, 2022 8:23 am

Man I was watching that! Once the price went that high I was out though haha. Definitely super cool, never seen another one before

User avatar
Dekard
Posts: 372
Joined: Wed Dec 14, 2005 12:47 am
Location: Bermuda Shorts

Re: Spent $900 on a box of WWII chewing gum...

Post by Dekard » Thu Jan 27, 2022 1:48 am

nice find - hope it's legit. looks suspiciously like reproductions tho. hope i am wrong.

Phu_Bai
Posts: 48
Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2021 7:23 pm

Re: Spent $900 on a box of WWII chewing gum...

Post by Phu_Bai » Thu Jan 27, 2022 10:21 am

How would I be able to tell? Seller has almost 2k feedback and has been an ebay member since 2009. He deals specifically in odd older artifacts such as this and some are quite pricey as well. Way more so then this box of gum. Here are the rest of the pics from the listing. What do you think? To me the box shows age and patina. I also asked him for some general info on where he got it so I know some history on it. Waiting to hear back on that and will post his response.
Attachments
aa.jpg
sss.jpg
s-l1600.jpg
s-l16ss00.jpg

User avatar
Militaryration_guy
Posts: 279
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2020 8:14 pm
Location: The deep south

Re: Spent $900 on a box of WWII chewing gum...

Post by Militaryration_guy » Thu Jan 27, 2022 10:29 am

Dekard wrote:
Thu Jan 27, 2022 1:48 am
nice find - hope it's legit. looks suspiciously like reproductions tho. hope i am wrong.
I also have a feeling that it is a reproduction
A random hillbilly guy intrested in in military rations from across the world :arrow: :mrgreen: :arrow: :!: :?:

Phu_Bai
Posts: 48
Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2021 7:23 pm

Re: Spent $900 on a box of WWII chewing gum...

Post by Phu_Bai » Thu Jan 27, 2022 10:50 am

Anyway to really tell? What makes you think so? That would be fraud. Doesn't make sense the seller would risk that based on his feedback, time on ebay (2009) and other odd expensive artifacts he has sold as his history shows.

User avatar
Militaryration_guy
Posts: 279
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2020 8:14 pm
Location: The deep south

Re: Spent $900 on a box of WWII chewing gum...

Post by Militaryration_guy » Thu Jan 27, 2022 11:44 am

Phu_Bai wrote:
Thu Jan 27, 2022 10:50 am
Anyway to really tell? What makes you think so? That would be fraud. Doesn't make sense the seller would risk that based on his feedback, time on ebay (2009) and other odd expensive artifacts he has sold as his history shows.
The box and wrapper looks a bit to clean for old gum.
A random hillbilly guy intrested in in military rations from across the world :arrow: :mrgreen: :arrow: :!: :?:

Phu_Bai
Posts: 48
Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2021 7:23 pm

Re: Spent $900 on a box of WWII chewing gum...

Post by Phu_Bai » Thu Jan 27, 2022 1:02 pm

I'm starting to question some things now looking back at the description:

Auction Title: US Army Wrigley’s Army Ration Packaging PK Gum Box

- - Description: Wrigley’s Army Ration Packaging - 12 packs of P.K. Gum all sealed inside.

Wrigley’s WWII dated wartime tan packaging, with logo and colored letter on packaging. Marked Wrigley’s on back panel but had some slight tape damage. Marked in pencil 4/13/1945 on bottom side. Some slight wear and staining, but I’ve only seen this packaging for sale once before, may have been a special event, promotion, USO event or prototype."

- - End Description

It almost makes it seem like you are buying the box (packaging) and the gum could be a reproduction because nothing is used to describe the gum other then saying it's there. Seems like it's all about the "word" packaging. If that's true then that's a pretty crappy thing to do without disclosing the gum is a reproduction. Who in the hell is going to pay $900 for an empty gum box filled with fake/repro gum.

I asked him this: "I started wondering because it doesn't say specifically in the description. Is the gum the original WWII gum that was included in the box or is the gum a reproduction that was added to the box? I would certainly hope it's not the latter."

Still giving him the benefit of the doubt for now. We'll see what happens and what he says and I will keep this thread updated for all.

Phu_Bai
Posts: 48
Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2021 7:23 pm

Re: Spent $900 on a box of WWII chewing gum...

Post by Phu_Bai » Thu Jan 27, 2022 1:23 pm

Okay seller got back to me and said he checked all 12 packs and they are 100% original and in perfect condition. It was also purchased on an online auction where it was included in a lot of vintage food items. He has sold some serious high dollar vintage items in the many thousands of dollars with perfect feedback.

User avatar
steve1989
Posts: 1413
Joined: Sat Dec 18, 2010 7:32 pm
eBay name: -
Location: Central Florida
Contact:

Re: Spent $900 on a box of WWII chewing gum...

Post by steve1989 » Thu Jan 27, 2022 1:44 pm

It's real, and a very nice find.

Well stored gum like that will never change. Best gum you'll ever chew is PK from the mid-30s.
Attachments
20211011_071934.jpg

Post Reply