ratfink keychains

Who could forget those wild Monsters like Wild Child, MrGasser, Junkyard Kid, Mother's Worry, etc...? Share your Monster memories, pictures, toys, models, decals, shirts, etc....

Moderator: weldonmc

Post Reply
ratfink427
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Oct 08, 2006 2:34 am

ratfink keychains

Post by ratfink427 » Wed Oct 11, 2006 5:45 pm

Does anybody know anything about the old rat fink keychains and rings you would get the dime machine? I got ahold of one and i'm not sure of how old it is.thanks

User avatar
weldonmc
Posts: 237
Joined: Sun Feb 06, 2005 8:19 pm

Maybe this will Help...

Post by weldonmc » Sat Jan 27, 2007 10:04 pm

Hey ratfink427...I found this and thought about you...maybe it will help you a little. The topic is more on value than years issued. L(.)(.)KS like ol' Bob S. is on top the game!

by Bob Spearing

INTRODUCTION
*Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, hot rod innovator of the 1950s and 1960s invented the Rat Fink icon and a host of other products related to American muscle cars.Often imitated, his original Rat Fink gumball charm first hit gumball machines around the United States circa 1963 and were manufactured until just prior to 1970. Big Daddy never relinquished his patent for these charms and they have never been reissued which is why they continue to increase in value to this day.

INVESTMENT RISK AND REWARD
*In 1963, these gumball machine charms sold for a NICKEL!
*Today Rat Fink charms typically have an opening bid of $9.99. Winning bids can range from that bid price for a poorer speciman to over $150 dollars depending on its particular unique characteristics and packaging. 150 dollars!! The average EBAY sale price is about $34.00.
*67,900% average increase in 43 years. WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!
*Since 1998 when Rat Finks sold on EBAY for about $10, the average increase over 7 years has been 240%.

What can cause a decrease in value?
*Well, the reissuance of the licensce could flood the United States again with the charm.
*As more people become familiar with EBAY, the amount of auctions increases lowering sales. The first is happening but not the latter. Why, because as more people become acquainted with EBAY, not only are there more sellers but more buyers also.

What are the chances of continued value increase?
*The chances are quite good. Why? Because there are a FINITE number of Rat Fink charms in the World.
*Lets say that in 1963 there were 7,000 supermarket, laundromat and candy store gumball machines in America and each machine sold 100 Rat Fink charms in capsules. Lets also say that the machine sold out twice from 1963 to 1970 when the finks were discontinued. Thats 1.4 million charms.

How many toys do you still have from childhood?
*None, right? Probably well over 1 million rat finks are gone forever. Lost at school, tossed in the garbage by your parents, buried in a park playground.
*Of the ones that remain, how many have suffered the indignities of childhood-been chewed, suffered from partial amputation of an ear or tail,dented or otherwise defaced in a manner that makes them worthless. Probably a lot of the 400,000 or so remaining.

*Lets say 25% are still valuable-100,000. Of that 100,000, how many people have the business acumen, knowledge or desire to invest their time and energy to auction them off on EBAY? Well, there are about 14 Rat Fink auctions per week in 2005. That's 728 a year.

RAT FINKS ARE NO LONGER A TOY. THEY ARE AN INVESTMENT!!!!!!

NOMENCLATURE OF ORIGINAL RAT FINK CHARMS
*Size: Original Rar Finks are EXACTLY 1-3/8 inches tall.

Charm Details
*Close up you will see that the fink wears suspenders and has his hands clasped behind his back with elbows protruding out from his body. On his suspenders are the capital letters R.F. These letters and the periods between are always INDENTED on real finks. Fake finks spell out the words RAT FINK on the belly in block letters which are raised off the belly instead of indented. Raised initials also denote a fake fink or a MINI fink.

Density
*Finks are made of very hard plastic that will last thousands of years if left undisturbed.
*Finks come in either opaque or translucent plastic.

Charm Color of Original Finks
*After 40 years I am still discovering colors.

Common Colors are:
*Opaque Navy Blue, Opaque Light Blue, Opaque Black, Opaque White, Opaque Light Pink, Opaque Deep Pink, Solid Butter Yellow, Opaque Leaf Green, Opaque Mint Green, Opaque Red and Translucent Orange.

Not so common colors are:
*Opaque Brown, Opaque Beige, Opaque Copper, Opaque Dark Gold, Light Translucent Yellow, Dark Translucent Yellow, Translucent Blue Green, Opaque Grey, Opaque Battle Ship Blue, Translucent Phospherescent Red, Translucent Phospherescent Orange, Solid Light Purple, Opaque Dark Purple and Translucent Light Purple.

The rare colors are:
*Translucent Battle Ship Blue, Opaque Silver Blue, Opaque Silver, Translucent Lime Green and Opaque Dark Hunter Green.

The rarest colors are:
*Pearl White, Pearl Yellow, Opaque Olive

Eye Color
*Finks have many different colors painted into their eyes. Black finks usually have white eyes. Navy blue finks have yellow eyes mostly. Pink finks have white eyes. Green finks have red eyes. There are even finks with small fake diamond eyes. AND some finks have unpainted eyes. No eye paint does NOT mean a fink is fake.

Nose
*The nose is very pointed. Over 40 years time many finks can develop smushed noses but it is a relatively minor flaw. A good fingernail can undo some of the smush.

Whiskers
*Rat Finks came in 2 types-with and without whiskers.
*The whiskers are grey with some white strands. They can be short (slightly longer than the ends of the fink's elbows to long (over a quarter inch each way past the elbows).
*IMPORTANT! On finks with whiskers, there was a hole drilled through the fink for the whiskers to be inserted. If someone sells you a fink with 2 holes on either side of the face it is missing its whiskers and you should ask for a refund. Sometimes front facing photos in EBAY ads mask that the fink has holes in its cheeks.

Tails & Ears
*All original finks have tails on their left side. The tail curls to a point where it is facing down to the ground. Tails that seem to point out parellel with the ground are defective and too short. No tail means the fink is damaged.
*Looking closely at the ears you will see many many faint vertical lines. Fake finks have several large thin vertical cuts in the ear and you can easily count them. This is the sure sign they are fake finks.

Ear Loops
*ALL finks have a loop between the ears. Make sure the loop is not broken in the photo of the fink you may be buying.

Ring Holes
*Original finks came with ring holes AND no ring holes. The hole is exactly where the finks folded hands clasp in the back. The hole has a perfectly flat rim about 1/16 of an inch wide around the circumference. No rim and the hole is "homemade" and value is lost.
*Because a fink doesn't have a hole does not mean it is fake. Some were sold to be on a chain using the loop between the ears.

Feet
*This is IMPORTANT. Original finks had perfectly square feet that protruded out sideways not forward. If the feet are forward or if you see tiny toes then they are not original finks.

EVALUATING A FINK'S VALUE
*Finks with missing tails, chewed tails or short tails that don't curl down to point to the ground, chewed ears, partially amputated ears or ripped ears are worthless.Finks with a homemade ring hole are worthless.
*Some finks when manufactured did not properly fill out the mold and have a deep indentation, sometimes a hole above the ring hole. This manufacturing defect is usually located slightly above the finks clasped hands in the backside. These finks are worthless.
*Finks with over painted eyes or paint missing from one eye are of diminished value as are finks with smushed noses. Likewise, finks with perfectly painted eyes are more valuable than finks with unpainted eyes.
*Finks with rings are more valuable than finks without rings.
*Finks with ring holes are slightly more desirable than a fink with no ring hole.
*Finks with whiskers are MUCH more valuable than finks with no whiskers because they are rarer!
*Finks in the plastic bag with the ring and the original white cardboard label with red lettering stating "I'm a Rat Fink-10 cents" are VERY Valuable as long as you never remove the fink from the bag!!!
*Pearl Finks are the most valuable.
*Opaque and Translucent finks are approximately the same value.
*A fink on its original sealed gumball machine card is A MOST CHERISHED AND VALUABLE FIND!!

To conclude:
*A Pearl Yellow Whiskered Rat Fink with Painted White Eyes (very rare) with a Ring Hole and it's Ring in a sealed bag with its cardboard label is worth $120 easy on a good day.
*An opaque Navy Blue Fink with unpainted eyes, no ring and unpackaged but in good condition is worth about $22.00.
I have been a FINKSTER since 1963. I enjoy building, painting, and restoring all of Roth's Monster models ...Weldon

Martian Fink
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Oct 25, 2011 3:42 am

Post by Martian Fink » Wed Oct 26, 2011 2:42 am

Some great stuff here. I have a forum just for the ring/charm collectors, since there seems to be nothing else out there for collectors of these fantastic Ed Roth charms. If you're into these, please join us! :)

http://finkcharms.proboards.com/index.cgi

Post Reply