Lucky Strike Cigarettes Advertising Toy

Q: I have a green Lucky Strike trick cigarette pack. There’s a small key to wind it up in the back of the pack. Then the pack jiggles on the table.

A: Lucky Strike cigarettes were first made by the American Tobacco Co. in 1916. The package was green with a red logo until 1942, when the pack was changed to white with the same red logo. Your vibrating cigarette pack was made sometime before 1942 by J. Chein Co., a toy company founded by Julius Chein in New York in 1903. Chein made small toys and prizes for Cracker Jack as well as Disney, Felix, Popeye and other character toys. The company moved to New Jersey in 1949 and in the 1950s began making advertising tins, kitchen canisters, wastebaskets and other housewares. Chein stopped making toys in 1976. The Atlantic Can Co. bought Chein in 1987 and the company’s name became Atlantic Cheinco Corp. That company went bankrupt in 1992. Trick packs like yours sell for $80 or less.