Thousands of Pez dispensers collected at California museum

Global Business

Thousands of Pez dispensers collected at Silicon Valley museum

Pez candy toy combination nears a century of successful business. In the U.S. alone 3 billion of these sweet treats are sold every year.

But for some collectors the older the candy dispenser is the sweeter may be its value.

CGTN’s Mark Niu reports from the world’s only Pez museum.

In Burlingame, California hangs a sweet collection that’s literally heads above the rest.

Presidents, superheroes, sci-fi characters and even emojis– the world’s only Pez Museum has more than a thousand dispensers, including the very first, which looked more like a cigarette lighter.

Twenty-two years ago, Gary Doss ran a computer store here and brought in some Pez candy. People got so excited that he started bringing in more and more and the rest is Pez history. In 2008, Doss’s giant creation even made the Guinness Book of World Records for being the largest dispenser.

“Some Pez are quite rare. There are Pez in the collective world that is worth thousands of dollars. We have what’s considered the rarest of all Pez. It’s called a Make-A-face, like a Mr. Potato head Pez dispenser. And today that is worth about 5,000 dollars,” Gary Doss, Owner, Burlingame Museum of Pez Memorabilia said.

In addition to other rare Pez, like the psycho eye, the museum also has a collection of rare toys.

The museum even has an exhibit for banned toys. These toys were either not politically correct or simply dangerous like these lawn darts. Or this Atomic Energy Lab kit from 1951, which contained four jars of radioactive material.

But the main attraction is still the Pez, which brings in collectors coming from all over the country. And at the museum, Doss is more than happy to offer insider tips on loading and consuming.