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Collecting Tips for Peanuts Puzzle Enthusiasts

When you buy through our links, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Learn more.

Collecting is all about getting the best example of an item. Having all the pieces is a big part of having a highly desirable collectible. However, puzzles can have dozens to thousands of pieces! How do you know if you’re getting a collectible item? Here are my collecting tips for Peanuts puzzle enthusiasts.

Reasons to Buy Peanuts Puzzles

BUILDING

If you’re collecting Peanuts puzzles, you probably enjoy building puzzles, too. Peanuts puzzles range in difficulty from very easy to extremely hard. Wooden puzzles with under twenty pieces are easy to make. Some puzzles have hundreds of pieces and solid colored backgrounds, making building a multi-day challenge. Plus, it’s a collectible you can enjoy for its intended function, while still keeping it in near-pristine collector condition.

COVER ART

Lot of puzzles have wonderful Peanuts cover art. The box makes it easy to display on a shelf with your other collectibles.

SPECIAL THEMES

Peanuts puzzles are unique in that there was a lot of imagination put into creating the cover art for the puzzles. You can find a lot of themes that are hard to find in other areas of Peanuts collecting. Some of my favorites are the vintage Milton Bradley puzzles such as The Grand Prix, Matterhorn or Bust and The Ice Cream Parlour.

ALWAYS SOMETHING NEW

Peanuts puzzles are popular across the world and are still being produced. There’s always something new you can find for your collection, whether it’s new to the market, or a vintage piece at an antique store or rummage sale. Plus, new puzzle styles are going beyond the flat cardboard puzzles of our youth, such as 3-D figural puzzles.

Snoopy's Doghouse Original 3D Crystal Puzzle by BePuzzled

Keeping Track of all those Pieces

Buying complete vintage puzzles takes a lot of luck. First, finding the puzzle. Second, hoping all the pieces are there. Inspect the box and the contents to see if the puzzle is worth buying. If the box has water damage or mildew, you can be sure the pieces also have damage. If you can check the pieces, look for damage like bends and fading. Sometimes incomplete puzzles are great for completing another puzzle, except when discoloring gives away the adopted piece! When I’m buying from some thrift stores, I don’t have the option to see inside. At the right price, I just buy and hope for the best!
You’ve built your puzzle and determined if any puzzle pieces are missing. What next? If a piece is missing, take a photo, print it out and keep it in the box. You won’t have to go through building the puzzle again to find out. Then put all the pieces in a zipper bag. Seal it well. I also like to write the puzzle status on the bag. That way the puzzle pieces shouldn’t go missing and are protected if something happens to the box.

A vintage puzzle can smell a little musty. Throw an unused dryer sheet in the zipper bag. The dryer sheet will pull the odors out of the puzzle pieces over time. In a month or two, the odor should be weakened. Replace the dryer sheet if needed. If you’re worried about damaging the pieces, fold the bag so the dryer sheet isn’t touching the pieces directly. You can also put a dryer sheet in the box and put the box in a sealed bag.

If your brand new puzzle is missing pieces, try contacting the manufacturer. Sometimes they can help!

Finding Peanuts Puzzles

Your building and collecting style dictates the best places to find puzzles. For vintage puzzles, check locally at thrift stores, antique shops and rummage sales. For a quick vintage Peanuts puzzle fix, check eBay. To find new puzzles, your local hobby store may have just what you need, but they are turning up larger chain stores like Target and Walmart. For a wide variety of Peanuts puzzles, check out the selection at Amazon. (affiliate links)

Have Fun!

Your hobby of collecting Peanuts should always be primarily about having fun! What’s your favorite Peanuts puzzle to build? Watch more of my puzzle building on the CollectPeanuts Youtube Channel. If you have more tips for finding, enjoying or collecting puzzles, let me know at info@collectpeanuts.com.

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