Anatomy of the Pez Dispenser

    The traditional PEZ Dispenser is comprised of multiple parts, including the button, the channel, feet, pins, the head, the kicker, the sleeve, the spine, springs, and the stem. The stem refers to the lower part of the dispenser, which is where you will find the spine, the sleeve, the channel, and the button. The stem typically has the PEZ logo on at least one side. Some older dispensers might have die-cut stems or be completely smooth on the side. The side of the stem is also where you would find the country of origin, patent number, and injection mold code.

    The spine is the groove that runs down the stem on the back of the dispenser and the channel is the groove that runs down the stem on the front of the dispenser. The channel and the spine will be the same depth on vintage footless dispensers. On footed dispensers, the spine will be deeper than the channel. The sleeve, sometimes referred to as the magazine, is the part of the dispenser that comes out of the stem and holds the candy. 12 PEZ candy tablets will fit in the sleeve and they sit on top of the button. In older dispensers, the button is usually red and is rectangular with squared corners. In newer dispensers, the button is usually white and is rectangular with rounded corners. There is a spring located just underneath the button.

    The head is the top part of the dispenser that tilts back to dispense the candy. The head includes the kicker, a spring, and in older dispensers, a pin. The kicker, or pusher, is a small plastic piece that comes down the back of the head to push out a single piece of candy when the head is tilted back. The spring located in the top of the dispenser is used to keep tension on the character head. There are three types of springs used for the head including the classic wire mechanism, the blade spring, and most recently the leaf spring. Pins refer to the steel pin that hinges the head in older dispensers and connects the head to the dispenser base. The metal pin runs through the side of the head and the sleeve. The original PEZ Regulars didn’t have character heads, and had a cap with thumb grips at the top of the dispenser instead. Vintage Regulars had a raised thumb grip, while the remakes produced in the late 90s had square caps with no raised thumb grips.

    The feet of the dispenser is a feature that was added to dispensers in 1984 in Europe and 1987 in the U.S. The feet were small rounded plastic tabs that were attached to the base of the stem. The feet were designed to help the dispenser stand upright. There are two types of feet, with the earlier version referred to as “thin feet” due to the fact that the plastic used to make them was thinner than the plastic that is currently used. An accessory referred to as shoes was also created in order to give the dispenser more stability when standing. Originally the shoes were black with a “B” shape at the end and were intended to be used with PEZ Make-a-Face dispensers. Reproduction shoes have a rounded toe and can be found in multiple different colors.

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