Lighters to collect that were used in movies
- Thread starter VonMagnum
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Happy new year all. I think I found a close match to that lighter I was looking for from Its a Wonderful Life. The one that Mr Potter uses to light George Bailey’s (Jimmy Stewart) cigar. At least pretty close. I believe it may be an Evans US Pat. RE. 19023 Spitfire in gold tone. I took a pic of the colorized version of the scene and found this Evans spitfire which looks like a pretty close match, although the one in the film may be a tad wider, not sure. Thoughts?
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VonMagnum
Sr Member
Tales of the Gold Monkey..... My new Ronson Striker lighter, the Screaming Funky Brass Monkey with Clam Shell Ash Tray (1930s). It's all polished up in the photos now, but I need a flint strip. I'm going to try to make one from a forever match type cheap lighter I just ordered. I think the wand is OK, but there are replacements on eBay if I have to get one. Hopefully, there's no tank leak internally or something. Funny, I just realized the wand in its head resembles a Fez style hat.... 
Regular lighting after Flitz Polish:
Camera Flash reveals more details not seen in regular light
Regular lighting after Flitz Polish:
Camera Flash reveals more details not seen in regular light
VonMagnum
Sr Member
Ronson Queen Anne #5 restored (another junk lighter brought back to life; didn't take before photo this time but it was almost as bad looking). I had a heck of a time getting a spark (worn gears; ended up swapping with another junk lighter's parts) and had to dig a deeper channel in the fuel cap to get it off. There's some scratches around the screws. I'm guessing someone missed a lot in the past.... This one doesn't have the rivet in the back, which is usually a sign of a 1930s lighter, but the flat snuffer suggests 1940s or later. It may have had replacement parts changed out at some point?
Polished with previous Queen Anne #4 in the background....
Lit with previous Queen Anne #4 in the background.... (notice the "filled" doily pattern on the background one; what caused that?)
Polished with previous Queen Anne #4 in the background....
Lit with previous Queen Anne #4 in the background.... (notice the "filled" doily pattern on the background one; what caused that?)
VonMagnum
Sr Member
So I bought a cheap forever match type lighter off Amazon for $8 and pried the giant flint out of it (came up pretty easy with a jewelers screwdriver) and then clipped the end off with diagonal pliers to fit and cemented it into the arm holder on the monkey lighter. I have to wait for it to dry, but that seemed way too easy. I wonder what will go wrong....
VonMagnum
Sr Member
There seems to be cotton inside the monkey lighter. That was unexpected. It took a lot more lighter fluid to get it working as a result. It works great with the wand that came with the Forever Match lighter. It's harder to get the Monkey one to light as it has less surface area (might need sanded/sharpened) or perhaps it was meant more for a flat strip than a rounded one (have to shave it down a bit).
The Evans spitfire came in (“Potter’s lighter”). Works pretty well. And an IMCO Triplex Patent Germany also came in (my old Germany wouldn’t light and was just a total mess). Works great so I lit it and posed it (temporarily) in place of the one I typically display as Marion’s lighter. And since I was adding fluid, I added some to Ilsa’s lucky lighter.
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VonMagnum
Sr Member
I'd sure like to know what the hard-on is for Ronson Rondette lighters on eBay lately. One just sold with an initial letter on it for over $100 in very good, but not excellent condition (I'm not paying that). The books say they're generally worth $40-60 in excellent condition while other far more rare lighters like the Banjo table lighter I recently bought are worth $250+ and I got it for ~$170 and the De-Light version for $175 with no bidders against me. WTF?!?
Strange things are afoot at the Circle K.
Strange things are afoot at the Circle K.
VonMagnum
Sr Member
Just what every kitchen needs, a Ronson Kitchenette Lighter (1954). Bright china base with fruit patterns that remind me of those refrigerator magnets we had when I was a kid on the fridge. The lighter insert is chrome and this one is in pretty much MINT condition and it's the "Essex" version that is supposedly more rare according to the book on lighters I bought. I didn't even wait for the auction and paid the Buy Now price which was already below book price ($45 vs $50-100 in excellent condition, let alone mint in the original box). I didn't know it would be in this good of shape when I bought it even. It's literally brand new looking and even though I thought it was kind of cheesy in the books of Ronson lighters, it's actually smaller and nicer looking than I thought it would be. One less lighter on my bizarre quest to collect at least one version of every table lighter design Ronson made (individual striker statues and dozens of touch-tip lighter variations excluded).
Bananas, cucumbers and carrots! Oh boy!
Orange, pears and watermelon baby!
You always need light in a kitchen....
Bananas, cucumbers and carrots! Oh boy!
Orange, pears and watermelon baby!
You always need light in a kitchen....
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VonMagnum
Sr Member
I was looking at a gold lighter insert for a lighter made like a cube in clear glass or lucite and had this crazy idea about turning one of my (I own way too many) Hellraiser cubes into a lighter (cut hole on one of the sides with the circle rune and insert/cement round gold lighter insert). I think the gold on gold look would be totally sweet as a table lighter.
Obviously I'd want to use a cheaper wood or panel project version than a high end wood one that has real brass panels, although that might make an even higher quality table lighter.... Hmmmm, maybe one of the nickel based ones from one of the newer movies (usually around $100 for the box). Total price probably around $130-150 to make one.
EDIT: I've ordered a lighter with the needed round wick lighter and cup to cement (crystal base will be tossed I suppose). I think one of the the Screamin' hollow panel box versions I have will work best as it's already hollow inside. Cement lip on box and instant Hellraiser Box Lighter.
Obviously I'd want to use a cheaper wood or panel project version than a high end wood one that has real brass panels, although that might make an even higher quality table lighter.... Hmmmm, maybe one of the nickel based ones from one of the newer movies (usually around $100 for the box). Total price probably around $130-150 to make one.
EDIT: I've ordered a lighter with the needed round wick lighter and cup to cement (crystal base will be tossed I suppose). I think one of the the Screamin' hollow panel box versions I have will work best as it's already hollow inside. Cement lip on box and instant Hellraiser Box Lighter.
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VonMagnum
Sr Member
Did someone kickstart a whole new set of lighter collectors? I've got several auctions coming up today and there's between 30-100 people watching them, which seems highly unusual. Some bids are already well past where I'd want to pay for the given models (might as well delete the auctions). And yet oddly I've not been able to find a single Cigarette Lighter discussion forum on the entire Internet. There's a "club" that charges monthly dues (WTF are you supposed to get out of that other than their "newsletter"?) and yet I don't think they have a discussion forum either (if they do, it's hidden behind the paywall so you can't even see whether it's worth joining or not). I find that strange for what is clearly still an active hobby for thousands of people worldwide.
I guess no one explained to some of these eager beavers, however, that the only thing that bidding early does on eBay is increase the price the "winner" ends up paying and increase eBay's profits. I mean when it's at $750 for something worth $550 with 9 hours to go you know they're going to MASSIVELY OVERPAY for the lighter. They'll never get their money back when people come to their senses (I noticed in 2019 the prices were dead on with the books or even often well under it and now some go way over and others way under). No wonder some are asking 2x what their lighters are worth as a starting bid and then sit for months/years with no bids.
Perhaps they see the touch tip Maltese Falcon touch-tip type lighters selling for insane amounts of money and think theirs is worth more too and no one wants them. Just as of 2019, a Maltese Falcon style Touch Tip in excellent shape would sell for $450. Now one with the WRONG CLOCK (making it worthless IMO as a display "prop", although still a nice lighter, just not worth that kind of money) will sell for $950+ when the book says it should sell for $450-550 (adjust for inflation and figure maybe $650). I don't get it. I've seen some correct models sell outright for less than they sell for directly on Ronson Repair (which used to be above a typical eBay price, but at least you at least know his lighters are fully repaired and totally functional (eBay lighters are often broken or have stuck fuel caps or worn out wands and 9/10 times stuck flints, etc.) If you're going to pay above book value, at least get the service you should get at that price point.
What's weird, as a I mentioned before is that it only seems to apply to some lighters and not necessarily ones you'd expect (e.g. Nothing special about Ronson Rondette lighters and theyr'e worth $40-60 yet I can't get a pattern I like because they keep selling for 2x-3x their value. A year from now they might sell for less than their value. I don't get what's driving the high prices on certain models only while other much cooler looking lighters like the Ronson Nordic in Lucite sell for $20-40 (although some greedy dude is asking $300+ on 1st Dibs).
Certainly, rarity might be a factor with some (you don't see many De-Light Standard Pocket lighters with the added windshield metal bit, but OTOH maybe that's because it's hideous looking with the windshield attached; the "WindBreak" series looks much prettier, but that doesn't make them worth $300 either and the newer Whirlwind lighter had a nice hidden windshield in it and sells for pennies by comparison). OTOH, I just picked up four "very rare" to "extremely rare" lighters (The two matching leather bound Banjo table lighters with the different mechanisms, the almost as old Tabourette in mint chrome (most expensive version) condition and the "Baronet" table set with cigarette box, the latter of which is in not one, but two Bogart films including The Maltese Falcon as the "Gutman" lighter in his apartment) with ZERO people bidding against me (despite 30+ watchers on the Baronet one) and ALL at about 1/2 their actual appraised value and all four in near mint or restorable to almost MINT condition increasing their value even more (unlike lighters with massive chips in the paint, pitted chrome, missing plating, etc. that are almost impossible to "repair" in any convincing fashion).
Sadly, there's no communication on eBay sales (there is a separate forum, but who goes there except to whine about something?) or you might get some insight into what these people are thinking. I thought some were just last minute Christmas presents a month ago, but clearly I'm wrong based on the current Touch Tip bid price for a "wrong clock" lighter still being "described" as a Maltese Falcon lighter when it's absolutely NOT one (I'm just watching that one to see what price it fetches out of morbid curiosity).
EDIT: Hmmmmm. I noticed this past auction had a "private identity" setting which I looked up and it seems sellers use this option to hide the fact they're bidding on their own item with a 2nd account (not sure why a scrambled listing would matter instead), but I did have an auction once where it said I lost the auction and then it turned around and said I won and had to pay and apparently there's some way to retract bidding? I've never seen that option, but it seems the seller bids up to some reserve price they want to hit and bids on their own item to get it there and then (time allowing) retracts their own bid so that the next bid just below it wins it and they maximize the profit instead of someone getting a deal. That all sounds pretty damn illegal to my mind (shill bidding). It's a shame eBay doesn't do something about it. I get that no one wants to see a 'reserve not met' auction (BS too because the minimum bid should be set to the minimum they're willing to accept, but that results in no one bidding at all in many cases and they want to incite a bidding war). Talk about BS. I'm just trying to acquire certain lighters I don't have and people are playing games....
I guess no one explained to some of these eager beavers, however, that the only thing that bidding early does on eBay is increase the price the "winner" ends up paying and increase eBay's profits. I mean when it's at $750 for something worth $550 with 9 hours to go you know they're going to MASSIVELY OVERPAY for the lighter. They'll never get their money back when people come to their senses (I noticed in 2019 the prices were dead on with the books or even often well under it and now some go way over and others way under). No wonder some are asking 2x what their lighters are worth as a starting bid and then sit for months/years with no bids.
Perhaps they see the touch tip Maltese Falcon touch-tip type lighters selling for insane amounts of money and think theirs is worth more too and no one wants them. Just as of 2019, a Maltese Falcon style Touch Tip in excellent shape would sell for $450. Now one with the WRONG CLOCK (making it worthless IMO as a display "prop", although still a nice lighter, just not worth that kind of money) will sell for $950+ when the book says it should sell for $450-550 (adjust for inflation and figure maybe $650). I don't get it. I've seen some correct models sell outright for less than they sell for directly on Ronson Repair (which used to be above a typical eBay price, but at least you at least know his lighters are fully repaired and totally functional (eBay lighters are often broken or have stuck fuel caps or worn out wands and 9/10 times stuck flints, etc.) If you're going to pay above book value, at least get the service you should get at that price point.
What's weird, as a I mentioned before is that it only seems to apply to some lighters and not necessarily ones you'd expect (e.g. Nothing special about Ronson Rondette lighters and theyr'e worth $40-60 yet I can't get a pattern I like because they keep selling for 2x-3x their value. A year from now they might sell for less than their value. I don't get what's driving the high prices on certain models only while other much cooler looking lighters like the Ronson Nordic in Lucite sell for $20-40 (although some greedy dude is asking $300+ on 1st Dibs).
Certainly, rarity might be a factor with some (you don't see many De-Light Standard Pocket lighters with the added windshield metal bit, but OTOH maybe that's because it's hideous looking with the windshield attached; the "WindBreak" series looks much prettier, but that doesn't make them worth $300 either and the newer Whirlwind lighter had a nice hidden windshield in it and sells for pennies by comparison). OTOH, I just picked up four "very rare" to "extremely rare" lighters (The two matching leather bound Banjo table lighters with the different mechanisms, the almost as old Tabourette in mint chrome (most expensive version) condition and the "Baronet" table set with cigarette box, the latter of which is in not one, but two Bogart films including The Maltese Falcon as the "Gutman" lighter in his apartment) with ZERO people bidding against me (despite 30+ watchers on the Baronet one) and ALL at about 1/2 their actual appraised value and all four in near mint or restorable to almost MINT condition increasing their value even more (unlike lighters with massive chips in the paint, pitted chrome, missing plating, etc. that are almost impossible to "repair" in any convincing fashion).
Sadly, there's no communication on eBay sales (there is a separate forum, but who goes there except to whine about something?) or you might get some insight into what these people are thinking. I thought some were just last minute Christmas presents a month ago, but clearly I'm wrong based on the current Touch Tip bid price for a "wrong clock" lighter still being "described" as a Maltese Falcon lighter when it's absolutely NOT one (I'm just watching that one to see what price it fetches out of morbid curiosity).
EDIT: Hmmmmm. I noticed this past auction had a "private identity" setting which I looked up and it seems sellers use this option to hide the fact they're bidding on their own item with a 2nd account (not sure why a scrambled listing would matter instead), but I did have an auction once where it said I lost the auction and then it turned around and said I won and had to pay and apparently there's some way to retract bidding? I've never seen that option, but it seems the seller bids up to some reserve price they want to hit and bids on their own item to get it there and then (time allowing) retracts their own bid so that the next bid just below it wins it and they maximize the profit instead of someone getting a deal. That all sounds pretty damn illegal to my mind (shill bidding). It's a shame eBay doesn't do something about it. I get that no one wants to see a 'reserve not met' auction (BS too because the minimum bid should be set to the minimum they're willing to accept, but that results in no one bidding at all in many cases and they want to incite a bidding war). Talk about BS. I'm just trying to acquire certain lighters I don't have and people are playing games....
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