Countries of Origin, Patent Numbers, and Injection Mold Codes

  There are multiple markings on a PEZ dispenser that can help determine when and where a dispenser was made. The first is the Country of Origin. The Country of Origin is located at the bottom of one side of the dispenser’s stem and indicates what country the dispenser was made in. The most common Countries of Origin are Austria, Hong Kong, Yugoslavia/Slovenia, China, Czech Republic, and the United States. Dispensers made in the U.S., DBP, Spain, Mexico, Brazil, and Yugoslavia with half flowers etched on the stem are highly coveted by collectors.

Another marking found on dispensers is the IMC, or Injection Mold Code. The IMC is a single digit number indicating which plastic factory the dispenser was molded in. This number is located on the outside top corner of the stem on the same side as the Country of Origin. There are ten commonly used IMCs which include: 1 & 3 for Austria and Hungry (1991); 2 for Austria and Hong Kong; 4 & 8 for Austria; 5 for Yugoslavia/Slovenia (1992); 6 for Hong Kong/China (1991); 7 for Hong Kong, Austria, and the Czech Republic; 9 for the U.S.A.; and V for Yugoslavia, known as Slovenia as of 1993. While single-digit IMCs are the most common, there are also double-digit IMCs, commonly referred to as Dual IMC codes. Stems with these codes are harder to find and are used to help identify a specific facility in a country that has more than one molding plant. Dual IMCs are found with IMC 4 for Austria and there are eight Dual IMCs that are used. The first number appears like the other single-digit IMCs and identifies the Country of Origin. The second number appears as a subscript and identifies the specific facility. There are also dispensers that have no IMC.

In addition to Country of Origin and IMCs, dispensers also have Patent Numbers. Patent Numbers are useful markings that can help identify the age of a dispenser and sometimes even where it came from. Though it is important to note that not all dispensers have a patent number, and on those that do, the patent number associated with the country may not be the same country that the plastic was molded in. The patent number can be found on the side of the dispenser’s stem on the same side where you would find the IMC and Country of Origin. Patent Numbers are typically seven-digits long and there are eight main Patent Numbers that have been used in the United States, along with a few unique patents used for particular dispensers or during a specific timeframe. Occasionally collectors will also come across rare patents from other countries, though these dispensers are usually very old and therefore costly to add to their collections. These patents include Mexico Patent NR 141 242, which would be accompanied by the words ‘Hecho en Mexico’, Italian Patent BREV.ITAL No. 461637, and Austria Patent 3.370.746 used in 1980.

The oldest patent to be found on a PEZ dispenser is the ‘BOX Patent’. Instead of having a seven-digit Patent Number, the dispensers would have ‘BOX Patent’ engraved on the stem. This patent can only be found on the Original Regulars that were released in 1949. It is important to note that the 'BOX Patent' is on the second issue of the PEZ Regulars, as the first issue had 'BOX Trademark' engraved on the stem instead. Another unique patent is the ‘Made in U.S. Zone - Germany’ Patent. This Patent can only be found on Vintage Regulars made after the fall of Germany in WWII. After WWII, the Allies occupied Germany and sectioned the country into four zones. From 1946 to 1947, German manufacturers were banned from exporting goods, but American authorities occupying controlled territories were permitted to sell and export toys with the markings ‘Made in U.S. Zone - Germany’. After the ban was lifted, much of the same tooling was used and many of the markings continued into the 1950s. Such is the case for the U.S. Zone Germany Regular released in 1953, which was made in the PEZ manufacturing plant located in the American controlled zone of Germany. Following that, German made dispensers contained the German Patent DBP 818.829, with DBP standing for German Deutsches Bundes. 

The first U.S. Patent used for American made dispensers was U.S. Patent 2.620.061. This patent was used from 1952 to 1967. The patent described a “pocket article dispensing container”. U.S. Patent 3.410.455 was used from 1968 to 1973 and described a “dispensing device for tablets”. This was followed by U.S. Patent 3.845.882 used from 1974 to 1975. The updated description was a “spring cage for use in a tablet dispensing receptacle”. 

U.S. Patent 3.942.683 followed in 1976 and was used through 1989. The description was simply a “tablet dispensing receptacle”. It was during this time that feet first started to appear on dispensers. It is hard to determine the age of dispensers made around this time as there were footed dispensers made with earlier patent numbers. This was due to the fact that leftover stems were sometimes used for years after production and added to newer heads. Older leftover heads were also sometimes placed on newer stems. It was also around this time that non-footed dispensers were made without a patent number on the stem. These dispensers are usually referred to as 3.9 No Patent Dispensers.

In 1990, PEZ dispensers made in the U.S. started using U.S. Patent 4.966.305. The patent described a “tablet dispenser” and was used until 1998. The following patent, U.S. Patent 5.984.285, was described as a “plastic spring”, in reference to the spring in the head of the dispenser. This patent was used through 2008, though many dispensers currently being shipped directly from PEZ Candy, Inc. still have this patent on their stems. U.S. Patent 7.523.841 followed and described a “tray for storing and individually dispensing tablets”. This patent, though introduced in 2009, did not actually appear in the marketplace until 2011.

The most current U.S. Patent has been used since 2022. This patent, U.S. Patent 11.459.164, describes a “pill dispenser that utilizes a transverse guide on a cap to which two halves of the decorative head attach, which in turn attaches to the inner sleeve”. The first sighting of this patent was in January 2024, and was on a European Groom dispenser that had a full beard and mustache. Despite the fact that it had the 11.4 patent on the stem, the dispenser did not use the technology that was described in the patent, in which the “head attached to the cap which attaches by the hinge pins to the sleeve”.

The only other U.S. Patent that has been used is U.S. Patent 3.370.746A. This patent describes a “dispenser for tablets”. It was only used for the Candy Shooter gun made in Austria in 1965 and the Space Gun made in 1982. Therefore, it is a seldom used patent.