Don the Beachcomber Mug Question

Aloha all,

I recently purchased a Don the Beachcomber mug. It's the one of his bust wearing a Panama hat. Does anybody have more information about this mug or know where I could look it up? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Mahalo,
MachTiki

[ Edited by: MachTiki on 2004-08-02 09:40 ]

[ Edited by: MachTiki on 2005-01-17 11:11 ]

Welcome to TC MachTiki.
I do not know the true value, but here are some pics for reference.

Thankfully, there isn't yet a book (that I've seen) that has tiki mug values. I know it is fairly rare. It's worth whatever you think it's worth to you. I may pay someone $20-30 at a flea market for one if I saw it, while someone else might bid $100 for one on Ebay. The value is relative.

Send it to me and I'll appraise it for you :wink:

Thanks to eveyone who has already responded. The mug I bought is exactly the one pictured first by Unga Bunga (thanks for the pics). I also agree that value to me and actual value are totally different. I'm just excited to have it in the collection. I don't plan on selling it, just curious.

And, at this point, who knows the value of a mug? You might speak to relative rarity, but the values on Ebay are changing all the time. So maybe such a book isn't possible to write. Or maybe, it would lower the market, as the prices on Ebay seem to edge higher and higher.

I sold one on ebay, similar to the 1st pic in Unga Bunga's post, for about $170, and recently sold one of much lower quality for about $50.... if that helps....

Not near as rare as the highly-sought-after "Moai The Beachcomber" mug.

Sabu

TraderPup, thanks! That helps a TON! I just wasn't sure if this mug was rare or pretty common.

"Moai The Beachcomber", eh?! Why do I get the feeling there are going to be a ton of "... the Beachcomber" pics. All the same, thanks for posting your highly-sought-after mug.

About 2 years ago I saw the gold version at a flea market. The seller wanted $50.00. I walked away from it because he refused to bargain with me...I wanted to get him down to at least $40.00. Then, about 2 weeks later I saw one exactly like it on eBay. After emailing the seller about it I realized it was the same mug (and the same seller). It sold for $133.00...doh!

I saw the green version on eBay last month go for $330.00 and a gold one go for $292.00 (both in great condition). I guess those could be interpreted as the current "high roller" prices for a Don mug in good shape.

ModMana :drink:

You should also note however, that the Don Head/Bust mug comes in different sizes. One has a long neck and one has a short neck. If you look at Unga's pics, the top one has the short neck and the bottom has a long neck. If I'm correct, the short necks are more rare thus, should probably sell for more money. Also, Don the Beachcomber has several styles, sizes and colors of their Rum Barrel mug. The small white (squarish) one was the most common while the large brown/beige (roundish) was more rare.

Short Don (Gold), Tall Don (Gold), Tall Don (Green)

You might also want to note that the hat on these mugs is a seperate piece that has been permanently attached. On most of the mugs I've seen there is a huge gap between the hat and the head where the pieces were poorly joined. Something else to look for if you want one of these...

ModMana :drink:

Another important thing to note is that this thread belongs in Collecting Tiki. Moving now...

thanks.

I think the long-neck Don looks kinda like the new and improved Don the Beachcomber, rather than the actual Don (as seen in postcards) that lost his mainland franchises to his wife. I wonder if that's why the mugs are different.

Damit! Damit! Damit! Damit! Damit!
I just missed buying this item by a day.
Story of my life.
(Scroll down to middle of page)
http://www.proppersource.com/PropSales/clearanc.htm

I picked up this fellow at the Goodwill. I don't remember how I paid for him, but I think it was only a buck or two.

He does have a chip in his hat, but it was worth the price.

just to throw in the mix, there is the Bosko "Beachbum Berry mug" of course.

expensive, yes. i like the connection and the honor directed toward this seminal author/editor :tiki:

[ Edited by: Johnny Dollar on 2004-02-20 14:21 ]

Just to add to the intrigue, there are knock-offs of the D.T.B. mug from the late '90s floating around.

How do you know if the mug is a knock-off? What should the stamp say (if any)?

I'm loving this topic & also the one about pineapple mugs. It's neat to see a bunch of variations on the same mug design next to each other. Do some more!

The knock off's were done by everybody's favourite Tiki vendor, Allen St.James, I think they were of the fat version, which I deem to be the follow up of the slender original, whose mold probably turned bad.

Funny thing is that the first had no resemblence to the real Donn Beach (like Geoff noted), so I figure it is from the 70s when Getty owned the chain. And the fat one even looks kind of Asian, probably because a Japanese re-did the original design. Just making deductions.

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki on 2004-02-20 20:13 ]

Everyone here has been a GREAT help to me on this subject. Thank you very much.

This question goes out to "ModMana" or anyone who has the Short (fat) Don in Gold. Is there a stamp on the bottom or any other markings to tell me if what I have is a knock-off or not?

[ Edited by: MachTiki on 2004-02-24 16:23 ]

On 2004-02-24 15:58, MachTiki wrote:
Everyone here has been a GREAT help to me on this subject. Thank you very much.

This question goes out to "Johnny Dollar" or anyone who has the Short (fat) Don in Gold. Is there a stamp on the bottom or any other markings to tell me if what I have is a knock-off or not?

i have the beachbum berry, not the don. ~j$

Sorry Johnny... I missed that ModMana posted the original picture. Though, I think I'm going to have to get that Berry mug too. Did ya buy it from Bosko?

[ Edited by: MachTiki on 2004-02-24 16:52 ]

Here's the best picture I have of the bottom of the Short Don mug. It doesn't appear that there are any markings on this one. By the way, the mugs in the photos are not mine. This one and the above Don mugs are auction photos that I have kept for my personal reference. Hope that helps...

ModMana :drink:

It helps a tons ModMana. Oh, and greetings from Encinitas.

On 2004-02-24 16:26, MachTiki wrote:
Sorry Johnny... I missed that ModMana posted the original picture. Though, I think I'm going to have to get that Berry mug too. Did ya buy it from Bosko?

[ Edited by: MachTiki on 2004-02-24 16:52 ]

yeh i got it from Bosko... that was waay before i knew squat about non-vintage mugs, i just liked it coz i thought the grog log was such an informative part of my personal library... i like it lots! mahalo, j$

This just popped up on eBay today:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3905033399&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1

I'm curious to see where it closes at.

[ Edited by: MachTiki on 2004-03-26 15:21 ]

Yep, I'm the seller- this is a double I picked up a long time ago....need money for my Hawaiian vacation this summer with my wahine!

Ah ha! So that's you Hula.
It's always interesting to find out who's who between TC and ebay.
Aloha,
:tiki:

Damn, i'm trying to save my wad for oasis.

Hey, I can't find these anymore.. Sold Out on Bosko, and none on Google... Argh....

Tiki Hula!
Congrats on your 99.99% positive feedback at 800.
Not an easy task at all.

Unga

Well.. I meant Beachbum Berry mugs... my mistake, but the Don did have the first...

I just picked up one of the Don the Beachcomber head mugs at the Rose Bowl. I want to know if there is an easy way to tell if it is authentic. I saw from other posted they came in several colors , mine is dark green, and sizes, mine is about 18 inches tall. There are no marking on the bottom but it does have Don the Beachcomber incised around the base. If it is real I got it for a steal.
Buster

On 2007-07-09 17:24, Buster wrote:
I just picked up one of the Don the Beachcomber head mugs at the Rose Bowl. I want to know if there is an easy way to tell if it is authentic. I saw from other posted they came in several colors , mine is dark green, and sizes, mine is about 18 inches tall. There are no marking on the bottom but it does have Don the Beachcomber incised around the base. If it is real I got it for a steal.
Buster

a few pictures would help us identify it?

Tikisgrl

Here is the first picture I took of the mug. I'll try and get some better photos tonight. What do you think ?

congratulations. Look like a real for sure.

That is so cool, I picked it up for $ 15.00

sweet move - wanna get rid of it now?

similar one went on ebay for $381.86 last week. ebay number: 120133598554

Jealous on this end! - It looks real hope it is.

great scoree

This mug has its spot in my mug case and isn't going anywhere. I was pretty excited when I saw it. It was stuck in with a bunch of junk. When I picked it up the lady selling it said "oh do you collect head vases, I haven't seen one like this before". I could not believe my luck.

classic!

Couldn't have gone to a better guy. Are ya going to put next to the Paris Mug I got Phil a while back? :wink:

That's a nice Don! The green ones vary in how thick the glaze is. If you look on Ooga Mooga, Kingstiedye has one with glaze so thick you can't make out the flower on the hatband. Yours has good definition.

I'm the guy that bought the e-Bay one recently for $381.56. Mine has the artist signature on the bottom, but even if it didn't, I still would have been willing to pay the same amount for it. You see them so seldomly.

At $15 you have bragging rights forever and ever. Congrats!

Yep, right next to the Paris mug.

Yeah, that's the real one, the knock offs that the Tiki Trader once did were of the "Asian", fat-headed style.
I have the beige one, It's pictured in the BOT at the beginning of the Don B chapter, and it has the signature, too. Thing is, I have NO idea what it says, maybe we can decipher it with Trader Tom's help:

Congrats on the find. I was psyched last year when I got a gold one with a few FB's and a small chip in the back on evilbay for $100.

O.K., here is MY guess at what the signature says :

"Mumonde Ouglioni" ...huh !?

The person I bought it from thought it was signed Vernon de Origo. Seemed plausible to me. Here's a pic of the bottom of my mug:

There's a third signature on a green Don mug at tikiroom.net that's similar, but when I tried to access the pic their website was down. Maybe we can get someone to look at all three pics and decipher it at some point.