Last Updated on October 28, 2022 by Jim Edwards
Mr. Bones was a very fun candy from the 1970’s. The candy was a bunch of pieces that were in the form of Skeleton parts and it came inside a plastic coffin. The candy was created by the Fleer Corporation and remained on the market from the late 1970’s to the mid 1990’s.
Note: you might have heard of Fleer as they were the first company to make bubble gum. They are best known for their sports cards and the company does not exist anymore but the rights to their name was acquired by Top Deck, the baseball card company in 2005.
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History of Mr. Bones Candy
Originally, Mr. Bones was a novelty item created by Fleer in 1977. It was the brainchild of Vero Ricci, who created some very memorable plastic candy containers in previous eras. For example, he designed the plastic garbage cans filled with candy for Tops.
After his experiencing designing a novelty candy container that was eye catching and filled with candy, he turned his creative energy toward a plastic coffin and thus Mr. Bones was born!
One thing that most people don’t know is that the coffin itself also came with a small plastic loop at one end so you could turn it into a keychain or jewelry if you wanted to.
This candy was sold by the Fleer company into the mid 1990s and then it was discontinued. Over the years, some knockoffs appeared but none were as popular in the market or as well loved by the kids.
Mr. Bones Candy and Container
Mr Bones Individual Pieces
The individual pieces of Mr. Bones were shaped like individual human bones, but not too authentic given their size. The candy flavor was generally forgettable and reminiscent of many candy’s of the 1970’s. It was pressed in a design that is similar to how Sweetarts appear, but not as interesting.
If you were able to assemble all fifteen of the pieces without losing or eating any of them, you would be able to assemble Mr. Bones. One challenge that kids often faced was poor quality control meaning that the coffins often seemed to be missing a key piece or have 2 identical pieces so the Mr. Bones wouldn’t fit together.
Come to think of it…maybe this was a scheme to get kids to buy more than one? No one will of course confirm this but many of us had that experience as a kid.
Mr. Bones Coffin
The coffins came in a variety of basic colors like green, yellow, red and brown.
Video: Mr Bones Coffin Unboxing Video
This is fun if you want to see some of these coffins unwrapped.
Video: Clear “Crystal” Mr. Bones Candy Coffin Container (1978)
This is exceedingly rare – it is an unboxing or unwrapping video of a very rare 1978 Fleer Clear “Crystal” Mr. bones candy coffin container. Very few of these are out there. It is a very sought after collectible.
Change.org Effort to Revive Mr. Bones
People love Mr. Bones so much that in 2016, a group started a change.org petition to revive the candy. It brought some attention to the cause, but unfortunately did not result in returning the candy to the market.
How to Buy Mr. Bones Candy
The candies remain off the market. If you still want to find one, though, they are always listed on eBay and you can find the listings here.
Did you own a Mr. Bones candy and coffin when you were younger? If you did please comment and let us know what you did with the container.
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I’m Jim Edwards and I started this website to share my love of Junk Food. We cover new junk food, desserts, snack foods, fast food secret menus, candy (of course!) and other related news. We love trying “secret menus” at restaurants. And we love trying new products too. So, we are trying to have some fun with our hobby and share some useful information with you, our community. Please feel to send us your suggestions and feedback through the contact form. And if you have products you would like us to try, let us know…!