Mr. Peanut

In 1930, the Planters company opened a peanut shop on the Atlantic City boardwalk. There were peanut roasters in the window and the aroma of freshly roasted peanuts spread out the door and all along the boardwalk.

Outside there was a man dressed up in a peanut costume, who handed out samples of the roasted peanuts. This was Mr. Peanut.

The Planters Peanut Store was right across from Steel Pier and it took up almost half a block. (See Photo below)

The store and Mr. Peanut flourished in Atlantic City until the shop was closed in the mid-1970s.

Mr. Peanut was born in 1916 when a schoolboy Antonio Gentile submitted a crude drawing in a national LOGO contest run by the Planters company. A professional illustrator enhanced the youngster's drawing adding the monocle and top hat to create the company logo that became famous.

Mr. Peanut is still the advertising logo and mascot of Planters, an American snack-food company and a division of Kraft Foods.

Mr. Peanut is a popular collectable. Mr. Peanut items include books, posters, tin signs, cookie jars, pins, baby spoons, salt-and-pepper shakers, silverware, watches, mechanical banks, and even soap. Some Mr.Peanut collectable items command high prices. For example, the Mr. Peanut "Planters Peanut Vendor," shown on the right, recently sold at a Pennsylvania auction for almost $500.

You can often find Mr. Peanut collectable items on eBay. You can use the link on the right to go to eBay. Type "Mr. Peanut" in the search box to see the Mr. Peanut items for sale, or on auction.

Planters Peanut Store on the Atlantic City Boardwalk

Postcard by E. C. Kropp Co. - from the collection of Thomas Topham.

The Planters Co. was founded by Amedeo Obici, an Italian immigrant who came to America as a child. When he got older, he started started a fruit and nut stand in Wilkes-Barre, PA. He became known as “The Peanut Specialist.” In 1906, he and Mario Peruzzi started "Planters Nut and Chocolate Co." "Mr. Peanut" was introduced in 1916.