“Hi…just some info for you.
The boxed cups have been valued at $300 a set from an auction valuer.
Thought this may be of interest to you to know what full sets are worth if in perfect condition. š” – Anna
I recently received the above email from Anna. She had read an article I had done on “Film Cups” and written to me asking if I knew how much they cost since she owned a box herself. I informed her that I had no clue but since they are slightly naughty and kind of out-there, it can’t be much.
Oh! How wrong was I?
Now, it’s not exactly a fortune that Iāve made, because letās face it, if that were true, Iād be somewhere in Bora Bora right now typing this ā I am not, just to make it clear.
I do remember paying something around 20 Euros for the whole box of 6 cups sometime in the early 2000s, so at $ 300 it’s a nice little profit no doubt.
Also, if I would have titled the article as “Making a few dollars off naughty souvenirs” there’s a good chance you would have skipped it altogether, so here’s your lesson number one in Click Bait Marketing, and it’s for free, but I do accept comments as gratitude.
Seriously though, who knew there was money in naughty souvenirs?
I still have them, hidden – from the kids and the wife – in the depths of some almirah in the basement and I think I’m too embarrassed to go out and sell them – apparently not embarrassed enough to write about them here. I havenāt used them till date and considering they are worth something now, donāt plan on taking the risk either.
Going back to how I came to possess the mysterious little cups, I can never forget the multicultural setting of it all. Here I was, an Indian, with my friends who are Finnish and Swiss, in Fuengirola, Costa Del Sol, Spain, eating at an Asian restaurant and picking up these Japanese film cups.
Donāt get impatient. I know you are wondering what the big hullaballoo is over these cups?
What tickled my fancy – there’s always tickling involved in anything naughty, you know that donāt you? Stop smirking, people are looking at you funny – about these cups was that besides the somewhat pretty cool “Oriental” design on the outside, it held a semi-transparent “marble” on the inside. Initially, it reminded me of that coffee mug with a cow in it, and as you drink from it, the cow becomes visible – I have that too by the way, but these pottery show film cups were a different story altogether.
There is some debate over whether the cups are Japanese or Chinese in origin. If memory serves me right, we were eating in a Chinese restaurant, but there was a conversation about having Sake in these cups, so it’s quite possibly a Japanese invention.
Iām getting there, hold on to your pants.
The story goes, as told to me, that when men (being men) would want to have a little fun while at a party, at someone’s house, or at a place where a person is expected to be respectable, they would use these cups for their drinks.
To an average eye, these are regular drinking āglassesā with a plain and homey look, but once a clear liquid is poured in them, say Sake, the little glass marble in the middle, like magic, displays a photograph that is “adult” in nature, to say the least.
Kinky, Kitsch, and Kinda cool all rolled into one.
There is, however, a small design flaw; say if your wife were to wash the dishes – I’m not saying she should, but let’s assume you passed out from all the fun and giggling from the previous night and she picks them up – and pours water in the cupsā¦ imagine her shock.
The moral of the story is that whenever you plan on using the film cups, make sure you have the couch ready too.
Now, since I have the cups, and they seem to be getting costlier and hard to find day by day, I think I’ll let them be for the time being. Maybe, in a few years, someone else will message me and inform that these pottery cups are worth $3000, –
One can dream, right?
Till then, the very thought that I have something so naughty and exclusive in the house is a good enough reason to occasionally have a private laugh, and then again, the show cups do make for a fun conversation starter with friends – too risque with strangers I would say.
And of course, a special thanks to Anna, wherever in the world you are, for informing me about the film cups.
