Metal Lunch Boxes from the 1980s

I just found this site which features a number of (eBay listed) metal lunch boxes from the 1980s. Ok, so there are some plastic boxes in there too but still a pretty impressive list don’t you think?

1980s Metal Lunch Boxes

Star Trek, Gremlins and my all time favorite The Dukes of Hazzard which is listed for the tidy sum of $135.

In terms of price these are a world away from the collectables of the 1940s and 1950s but for me (as a 30-something) the 1980s decade raises the greatest levels of nostalgia in my heart! Actually, I am slightly surprised at how cheap some of these boxes are. $0.99 for a Mr.T? I wonder if the sellers of these items really know the true value here? I suspect the current owner of the “Vintage 1984 School Days Mickey Lunch Box Rare” does given that they are asking for $225 : – )

One lunchbox that I am really after is unfortunately not listed here. It is the Airwolf lunchbox. Out of the Knight Rider, Street Hawk and Airwolf series I much preferred the latter.

Overall, I think the jury is out on the 1980s as to whether it will become a classic and collectable decade. On the upside there are a lot of people with some real vintage memories of TV shows etc but on the downside there was an awful lot of memorabilia manufactured. I think we will have to wait until “supply” reduces as more boxes inevitably get lost and destroyed before prices will increase. Of course, this is one of the reasons why the tin lunch boxes of the 30s and 40s fetch such high prices at auctions: Supply was severely restricted due to the economic conditions during the Great Depression and the Second World War.