The pictures below show larger views of the Old American Chicle Mazuma Gum Box With (9) Advertising Premium Play Money Coins in this lot. All sides of the box are pictured as well as both sides of all of the coins. From time to time we39;ve had the coins, but this is the first time we39;ve ever even seen a box for these! The box and coins are not dated but they are believed to be from the 1930s. The box is believed to originally come with gum and one or two coins for one penny. The box pictures a John Paul Jones 10 cent coin on each of the larger two sides. The box is marked as follows: MAZUMA GUM PLAY MONEY IN EACH PACKAGE AMERICAN CHICLE CO. MADE IN U.S.A. NEW YORK - CHICAGO - SAN FRANCISCO 1 CENT PER PACKAGE There are (9) 39;39;NATIONAL HEROES39;39; aluminum coins included of different denominations. These are marked 39;39;MAZUMA PLAY MONEY39;39; on the back. They are as follows: (5) Ulysses S. Grant 1822 - 1885 (25 cent / quarter) (2) Buffalo Bill Cody 1846 - 1917 (10 cent / dime) (1) John Paul Jones 1747 - 1792 (10 cent / dime) (1) Thomas Jefferson 1743 - 1826 (5 cent / nickel) To judge the sizes the box measures 1-7/839;39; x 1-3/839;39; x 3/839;39;. The coins all appear to be in mint condition. The box is in near mint to mint condition. All are as pictured. Below here is some Historical reference information found on The American Chicle Company: 1899 - The American Chicle Co. is formed by Yucatan Gum (William White), Adams Gum (Thomas Adams Jr.), Beeman39;s Gum (Dr. Edward Beeman), Kis-Me Gum (Jonathan Primley), and S.T. Britten. The American Chicle Company Many entrepreneurs worked with chicle, among them Thomas Adams who was born in New York City in 1818. Originally he worked on chicle tires for bicycles and carriages. One day, he was in a drug store when a little girl came in and asked for a penny39;s worth of chewing gum. Adams went straight home and called a family meeting to discuss the move from tires to confectionery. At the same time, he was lucky enough to meet the Mexican general Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, who was Mexico39;s dictator until he was deposed and fled to the United States to avoid exile in Cuba. In the US, his knowledge of chicle helped Adams get his confectionery business started. Adams poured all his money into the new project, somewhere between $35 and $55, and produced 39;39;Adams39; New York Gum No. 1 - Snapping and Stretching39;39;. Made in small sticks and wrapped in colourful tissue paper, it was sold at two pieces a penny. Adams39; work with flavour addition resulted in his liquorice Adams39; Black Jack - the oldest flavoured chewing gum on the market today. The early pioneer of chewing gum marketing, Adams was also the man behind the Chiclets brand. The American Chicle Company was eventually purchased by the Warner-Lambert Company, which is now part of Pfizer. |