Values of Pan Am Memorabilia Items
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everythingPanAm.com
The Virtual Pan Am Museum
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Many former Pan Am customers and employees have pieces of Pan Am memorabilia acquired while flying / working with Pan Am. There are two basic factors that determine the value of a Pan Am item; age and scarcity. The older and more scare a piece of Pan Am memorabilia the more value it has. Conversely, the newer and more widely available a piece of Pan Am memorabilia the less value it has.
Pan Am items from the 1920s and 30s and 40s through World War II are quite rare and hold the most value. After the War Pan Am and other airlines began a period of rapid growth adding larger aircraft, seating more customers and thus requiring more branded items. Items from 1945 to 1960 are moderately rare. During the 1960s Pan Am operated a fleet of over 100 jet aircraft and produced a great deal of branded material. Items from the 1960s are plentiful. In the 1970s Pan Am introduced the 747 and though the fleet size shrank with the introduction of the Jumbo Jet the passenger numbers continued to climb. Branded items used in-flight continued to be mass produced but fuel costs caused Pan Am to reduce producing promotional (give away) items. Flight bags would be a good example of this kind of material. Items from the 1970s are not rare. In the 1980s Pan Am went into retrograde and slowly started to shrink, shutting down in December of 1991. Throughout the 1980s Pan Am continued to produced a great deal of in-flight branded items and their abundance keeps the value low.
Common Items Held By Individuals:
Please see the sub pages in “The Collection” section of the site to cross reference your item against those in the collection to determine the age of your item.
Amenity Kits and Slipper Socks
In the 1950s Pan Am began to distribute shaving kits for men on the Deluxe President Special Flights. These were on a limited basis and are now quite rare. In the 1960s slipper socks were distributed on some flights in and out of Japan but amenity kits were not offered as jet travel was considered so quick that overnight amenities were no longer needed. In the 1970s slipper socks, eye shades and amenity kits (with limited contents) were offered irregularly to First Class customers on long haul flights. In the 1980s Pan Am and other airlines consistently offered amenity kits, slipper socks and eye shades to all First and Clipper (Business) Class customers. Therefore most Pan Am amenity kits date from the 1980s and are widely held by former employees and passengers. As such there value is quite low.
1950s President Special Shaving Kit $10-25 depending on completeness & condition of contents
1960s Slipper Socks $5-10 depending on condition
1970s Eye Shades (plaid pattern) $3-5 depending on condition closer to $5 if in original plastic
1970s Slipper Socks (red or blue) $2-5 depending on condition closer to $5 if in original plastic
1970s Amenity Kits $5-10 depending on completeness & condition of contents
1980s Amenity Kits $3-10 depending on completeness & condition of contents
1980s Slipper Socks $2-3 if unused in original plastic bag
1980s Eye Shades (light blue) $2-3 if unused in plastic pouch with “do not disturb” sticker
Flight bags:
1940s $25 -$100 depending on condition
1950s $25 - $50 depending on condition
1960s $10 -$25 depending on condition
1970s $10 - $25 depending on condition
1980s / 90s $5 - $10 depending on condition
Playing Cards:
Though playing cards may have been available as far back as the flying boats they were not “branded” with the Pan Am logo. The first branded cards appar in the 1950s
1950s $15 - $30 depending on condition
1960s $5 - $10 depending on condition
1970s $5 - $10 depending on condition
1980s / 90s $3 - $5 depending on condition
Timetables:
1920s $50 - $100 rare to find
1930s $50 - $75 rare to find
1940s $35 - $75 not published during WWII, more common after 1945
1950s $25 - $50
1960s $20 - $40
1970s $10 - $25
1980s / 90s $5 - $10
Tickets / Boarding Passes:
With the exception of inaugural or other special flights passenger tickets and boarding passes are not especially sought after and this do not have much value.
1920s $15 - $50 very rare
1930s $15 - $40 rare
1940s $10 - $20
1950s $5 - $10
1960s / 70s / 80s / 90s $3 - $5
In-Flight Magazine “New Horizons” / “Clipper”:
1930s $15 - $50 quite rare
1940s $10 - $20 titled “New Horizons”
1950s $5 - $15 “Clipper”
1960s/ 70s / 80s / 90s $5 - $10 Clipper
Commemorative Flight Plates (Aircraft Picture Plates):
In 1979 Pan Am produced a set of 6 plates showing first flights of 6 aircraft. These plates were given out to all First Class passengers on long haul flights from 1979 to 1980. There are tens of thousands of these plates in circulation and they are not rare.
Individual plate $5 - $10
Complete set (6) $ 50 - $100
Catering Items (plates, glasses, cups, flatware and serving pieces):
It is hard to give clear pricing for catering items as there are so many different pieces. Until the mid 1930s Pan Am used “off the shelf” dinning items and thus they are not branded or easily identifiable. Starting in the mid 1930s Pan Am introduced branded catering items.
1930s Extremely Rare
Homer Laughlin “Egg Shell” winged logo porcelain plates $200 - $600
Other items are equally rare and accordingly valuable
Silver plate flatware & serving pieces $10 - $500
1940s Very Rare
Hall China and other porcelain with logo $150 - $300
Glasses / crystal with logo $50 - $100
Silver plate flatware $5 - $10
Silver plate serving pieces $100 - $500
1950s Rare
First Class Rosenthal “Script” plates: “off shelf” and still widely available
First Class 6 star “President Special” glasses $30 - $50
Silver plate flatware $3 - $5
Silver plate serving pieces $100 - $400
Economy plastic items $10 - $30
1960s First Class - Rare / Economy Class - Common
First Class “President” Pattern porcelain - Rare $25 - $50
First Class “President” Glasses - Rare $20 - $50
Silver plate flatware $1 - $3
Silver plate serving pieces $50 - $150
Economy pieces / black melmac plastic - plentiful $2 - $5
1970s First Class - Available / Economy Class - Common
First Class Noritake / Bauscher “Gold Rim” plates $10 - $25
First Class Glasses / Crystal $5 - $25 (cordial glasses are most common)
Silver plate flatware $1 - $3
Silver plate serving pieces $50 - $200
Economy pieces / white melmac plastic - plentiful $2 - $5
Stainless steel flatware $1 - $2
1980s / 90s Common
First Class Bauscher “White Wave” plates $5 - $15
First Class Glasses / Crystal $5 - $20 (cordial & rock glasses most common)
Stainless steel flatware $1 - $3
Silver plate serving pieces $50 - $200
Economy pieces / gray melmac plastic - $3 - $5
Uniform Pieces:
Pilot uniforms throughout the company’s history were a standard black, double breasted through the 1950s and then single breasted until the company shut down in 1991. Pilots were responsible for procuring their uniforms based on specifications provided by the company. It can be hard to date uniforms without a wing pin or cap badge and often the wings and hat badge are worth as much as the uniform itself.
The low end of the estimate represent uniform without wings and the higher prices represent uniforms with wings or very rare “stand alone” wings. In some instances specific uniform estimates are included.
1920s Pilot: (uniform & wings) extremely rare $1,000 - $2,000
Steward: (uniform & wings) extremely rare $800 - $1,500
Ground Staff: (uniform & wings) extremely rare $800 - $1,500
1930s Pilot: (uniform & wings) extremely rare $900 - $2,000
Steward: (uniform & wings) extremely rare $700 - $1,500
Ground Staff: (uniform & wings) extremely rare $700 - $1,500
1940s Pilot: (uniform & wings) very rare $800 - $2,000
Steward: (uniform & wings) very rare $400 - $800
Stewardess: (uniform & wings) very rare $400 - $1000
Ground Staff: (uniform & wings) very rare $300 - $1,000
1950s Pilot: (uniform & wings) rare $500 - $1,500
Steward: (uniform & wings) rare $300 - $500
Stewardess: (wings) rare $300 - $500
Stewardess: complete uniform with hat (no wings) $400 - $600
Stewardess: hat (with cap logo badge) $250 - $500
Ground Staff: (uniform & wings) rare $100 - $500
1960s Pilot: (uniform & wings) extremely rare $200 - $500
Steward: (uniform & wings) rare $100 - $300
Stewardess: (wings only) $100 - $250
Stewardess: complete uniform with hat (no wings) $250 - $500
Stewardess: hat (with cap logo badge) $150 - $300
Ground Staff: (uniform & wings) rare $50 - 150
Ground Staff (ladies cap with logo badge) $50 - $250
1970s Pilot: (uniform & wings) $100 - $300
Male Flight Attendants: (uniform & wings) $100 - $300
Female Flight Attendant: Evan Picone Uniform (complete with hat) $250 - $500
Female Flight Attendant: Evan Picone hat (with logo badge) $150 - $300
Female Flight Attendant Edith Head Uniform (complete with hat) $100 - $300
Female Flight Attendant Edith Head Uniform hat $20 - $50
Ground Staff Anne Klein / Edith Head (uniform) name tags only $50 - $100
1980s / 90s Pilot: (uniform & wings) $100 - $300
Male Flight Attendant (uniform & wings) $100 - $300
Female Flight Attendant: Adolfo Uniform (complete with hat) $100 - $200
Female Flight Attendant: Adolfo Uniform hat $20 - $50
Male Ground Staff : Cacharel Uniform only name tag issued $50 - $150
Female Ground Staff :Cacharel Uniform & hat $75 - $150
Item Not Referenced:
Should you not see your item listed here feel free to send a picture along with a brief description to everythingpanam@aol.com. Please place the words “Item Value” in the subject line so I’ll know it’s not spam. I will respond as soon as I can but as a one man web site this might take some time.
Remember, the values offered above are estimates for items in general circulation. Pan Am would occasionally produced branded items for special occasions (inaugural flights, anniversary flights, VIP flights, charter flights and other special occasions). Specially produced items would be at the top of the estimates above or may bring a higher price.
In general the best place to sell Pan Am memorabilia is on E-bay which has global reach. As America’s premier international airline Pan Am had a loyal following around the world and there are many international collectors. . The best circumstance for selling Pan Am memorabilia is to run into a bidding war on E-bay (though rare). Pan Am memorabilia is also bought and sold at Airline Memorabilia Shows held in select cities around the world. A simple web search should reveal future shows.
Pan Am items from the 1920s and 30s and 40s through World War II are quite rare and hold the most value. After the War Pan Am and other airlines began a period of rapid growth adding larger aircraft, seating more customers and thus requiring more branded items. Items from 1945 to 1960 are moderately rare. During the 1960s Pan Am operated a fleet of over 100 jet aircraft and produced a great deal of branded material. Items from the 1960s are plentiful. In the 1970s Pan Am introduced the 747 and though the fleet size shrank with the introduction of the Jumbo Jet the passenger numbers continued to climb. Branded items used in-flight continued to be mass produced but fuel costs caused Pan Am to reduce producing promotional (give away) items. Flight bags would be a good example of this kind of material. Items from the 1970s are not rare. In the 1980s Pan Am went into retrograde and slowly started to shrink, shutting down in December of 1991. Throughout the 1980s Pan Am continued to produced a great deal of in-flight branded items and their abundance keeps the value low.
Common Items Held By Individuals:
Please see the sub pages in “The Collection” section of the site to cross reference your item against those in the collection to determine the age of your item.
Amenity Kits and Slipper Socks
In the 1950s Pan Am began to distribute shaving kits for men on the Deluxe President Special Flights. These were on a limited basis and are now quite rare. In the 1960s slipper socks were distributed on some flights in and out of Japan but amenity kits were not offered as jet travel was considered so quick that overnight amenities were no longer needed. In the 1970s slipper socks, eye shades and amenity kits (with limited contents) were offered irregularly to First Class customers on long haul flights. In the 1980s Pan Am and other airlines consistently offered amenity kits, slipper socks and eye shades to all First and Clipper (Business) Class customers. Therefore most Pan Am amenity kits date from the 1980s and are widely held by former employees and passengers. As such there value is quite low.
1950s President Special Shaving Kit $10-25 depending on completeness & condition of contents
1960s Slipper Socks $5-10 depending on condition
1970s Eye Shades (plaid pattern) $3-5 depending on condition closer to $5 if in original plastic
1970s Slipper Socks (red or blue) $2-5 depending on condition closer to $5 if in original plastic
1970s Amenity Kits $5-10 depending on completeness & condition of contents
1980s Amenity Kits $3-10 depending on completeness & condition of contents
1980s Slipper Socks $2-3 if unused in original plastic bag
1980s Eye Shades (light blue) $2-3 if unused in plastic pouch with “do not disturb” sticker
Flight bags:
1940s $25 -$100 depending on condition
1950s $25 - $50 depending on condition
1960s $10 -$25 depending on condition
1970s $10 - $25 depending on condition
1980s / 90s $5 - $10 depending on condition
Playing Cards:
Though playing cards may have been available as far back as the flying boats they were not “branded” with the Pan Am logo. The first branded cards appar in the 1950s
1950s $15 - $30 depending on condition
1960s $5 - $10 depending on condition
1970s $5 - $10 depending on condition
1980s / 90s $3 - $5 depending on condition
Timetables:
1920s $50 - $100 rare to find
1930s $50 - $75 rare to find
1940s $35 - $75 not published during WWII, more common after 1945
1950s $25 - $50
1960s $20 - $40
1970s $10 - $25
1980s / 90s $5 - $10
Tickets / Boarding Passes:
With the exception of inaugural or other special flights passenger tickets and boarding passes are not especially sought after and this do not have much value.
1920s $15 - $50 very rare
1930s $15 - $40 rare
1940s $10 - $20
1950s $5 - $10
1960s / 70s / 80s / 90s $3 - $5
In-Flight Magazine “New Horizons” / “Clipper”:
1930s $15 - $50 quite rare
1940s $10 - $20 titled “New Horizons”
1950s $5 - $15 “Clipper”
1960s/ 70s / 80s / 90s $5 - $10 Clipper
Commemorative Flight Plates (Aircraft Picture Plates):
In 1979 Pan Am produced a set of 6 plates showing first flights of 6 aircraft. These plates were given out to all First Class passengers on long haul flights from 1979 to 1980. There are tens of thousands of these plates in circulation and they are not rare.
Individual plate $5 - $10
Complete set (6) $ 50 - $100
Catering Items (plates, glasses, cups, flatware and serving pieces):
It is hard to give clear pricing for catering items as there are so many different pieces. Until the mid 1930s Pan Am used “off the shelf” dinning items and thus they are not branded or easily identifiable. Starting in the mid 1930s Pan Am introduced branded catering items.
1930s Extremely Rare
Homer Laughlin “Egg Shell” winged logo porcelain plates $200 - $600
Other items are equally rare and accordingly valuable
Silver plate flatware & serving pieces $10 - $500
1940s Very Rare
Hall China and other porcelain with logo $150 - $300
Glasses / crystal with logo $50 - $100
Silver plate flatware $5 - $10
Silver plate serving pieces $100 - $500
1950s Rare
First Class Rosenthal “Script” plates: “off shelf” and still widely available
First Class 6 star “President Special” glasses $30 - $50
Silver plate flatware $3 - $5
Silver plate serving pieces $100 - $400
Economy plastic items $10 - $30
1960s First Class - Rare / Economy Class - Common
First Class “President” Pattern porcelain - Rare $25 - $50
First Class “President” Glasses - Rare $20 - $50
Silver plate flatware $1 - $3
Silver plate serving pieces $50 - $150
Economy pieces / black melmac plastic - plentiful $2 - $5
1970s First Class - Available / Economy Class - Common
First Class Noritake / Bauscher “Gold Rim” plates $10 - $25
First Class Glasses / Crystal $5 - $25 (cordial glasses are most common)
Silver plate flatware $1 - $3
Silver plate serving pieces $50 - $200
Economy pieces / white melmac plastic - plentiful $2 - $5
Stainless steel flatware $1 - $2
1980s / 90s Common
First Class Bauscher “White Wave” plates $5 - $15
First Class Glasses / Crystal $5 - $20 (cordial & rock glasses most common)
Stainless steel flatware $1 - $3
Silver plate serving pieces $50 - $200
Economy pieces / gray melmac plastic - $3 - $5
Uniform Pieces:
Pilot uniforms throughout the company’s history were a standard black, double breasted through the 1950s and then single breasted until the company shut down in 1991. Pilots were responsible for procuring their uniforms based on specifications provided by the company. It can be hard to date uniforms without a wing pin or cap badge and often the wings and hat badge are worth as much as the uniform itself.
The low end of the estimate represent uniform without wings and the higher prices represent uniforms with wings or very rare “stand alone” wings. In some instances specific uniform estimates are included.
1920s Pilot: (uniform & wings) extremely rare $1,000 - $2,000
Steward: (uniform & wings) extremely rare $800 - $1,500
Ground Staff: (uniform & wings) extremely rare $800 - $1,500
1930s Pilot: (uniform & wings) extremely rare $900 - $2,000
Steward: (uniform & wings) extremely rare $700 - $1,500
Ground Staff: (uniform & wings) extremely rare $700 - $1,500
1940s Pilot: (uniform & wings) very rare $800 - $2,000
Steward: (uniform & wings) very rare $400 - $800
Stewardess: (uniform & wings) very rare $400 - $1000
Ground Staff: (uniform & wings) very rare $300 - $1,000
1950s Pilot: (uniform & wings) rare $500 - $1,500
Steward: (uniform & wings) rare $300 - $500
Stewardess: (wings) rare $300 - $500
Stewardess: complete uniform with hat (no wings) $400 - $600
Stewardess: hat (with cap logo badge) $250 - $500
Ground Staff: (uniform & wings) rare $100 - $500
1960s Pilot: (uniform & wings) extremely rare $200 - $500
Steward: (uniform & wings) rare $100 - $300
Stewardess: (wings only) $100 - $250
Stewardess: complete uniform with hat (no wings) $250 - $500
Stewardess: hat (with cap logo badge) $150 - $300
Ground Staff: (uniform & wings) rare $50 - 150
Ground Staff (ladies cap with logo badge) $50 - $250
1970s Pilot: (uniform & wings) $100 - $300
Male Flight Attendants: (uniform & wings) $100 - $300
Female Flight Attendant: Evan Picone Uniform (complete with hat) $250 - $500
Female Flight Attendant: Evan Picone hat (with logo badge) $150 - $300
Female Flight Attendant Edith Head Uniform (complete with hat) $100 - $300
Female Flight Attendant Edith Head Uniform hat $20 - $50
Ground Staff Anne Klein / Edith Head (uniform) name tags only $50 - $100
1980s / 90s Pilot: (uniform & wings) $100 - $300
Male Flight Attendant (uniform & wings) $100 - $300
Female Flight Attendant: Adolfo Uniform (complete with hat) $100 - $200
Female Flight Attendant: Adolfo Uniform hat $20 - $50
Male Ground Staff : Cacharel Uniform only name tag issued $50 - $150
Female Ground Staff :Cacharel Uniform & hat $75 - $150
Item Not Referenced:
Should you not see your item listed here feel free to send a picture along with a brief description to everythingpanam@aol.com. Please place the words “Item Value” in the subject line so I’ll know it’s not spam. I will respond as soon as I can but as a one man web site this might take some time.
Remember, the values offered above are estimates for items in general circulation. Pan Am would occasionally produced branded items for special occasions (inaugural flights, anniversary flights, VIP flights, charter flights and other special occasions). Specially produced items would be at the top of the estimates above or may bring a higher price.
In general the best place to sell Pan Am memorabilia is on E-bay which has global reach. As America’s premier international airline Pan Am had a loyal following around the world and there are many international collectors. . The best circumstance for selling Pan Am memorabilia is to run into a bidding war on E-bay (though rare). Pan Am memorabilia is also bought and sold at Airline Memorabilia Shows held in select cities around the world. A simple web search should reveal future shows.