There is some disagreement among the Smurf Collectors Club Intl. and German guides regarding the Smurfs holding surprise cones (Cones given to Children in Germany on their first day of school, filled with candy and surprises). MushroomVillage.com always called the pink cone 20219, the orange cone 20220 and the green cone 20221, because this is what the SCCI taught us. German guides say that pink is 20220, orange is 20221 and green is 20219.
Another discrepancy I found is that the SCCI described all three in a 1986 newsletter, implying that all 3 were available that year. However, the German ID guide "Der Schlumpf Katalog IV" states that the dates these were in the current range is 1987, 1988 and 1990 for pink, 1986 for orange and 1989 for green. Who is right?
I then looked at old Schleich catalogs. This mold first appears in 1986 as 20221, and the catalog shows a pink cone only.
In 1987/1988, the catalog again shows this mold with Schleich #20221, but this time the cone is green. (Schleich produced no new Smurfs in 1988, and the in-production Smurfs remained the same from 1987.)
In the 1989 catalog, this mold appears again, is called 20221, and has a green cone.
In the 1990 catalog, 20221 is shown again, but the cone is back to pink!
In 1991 the surprise cone is discontinued, and disappears from the Schleich catalog. The Schleich catalogs never showed an orange cone, or a number other than 20221.
I asked Schleich what information they can provide. They told me that (according to their in-house master collection) pink is 20221, orange is 20220, and green is 20219. Oh no! That does not agree with either the SCCI or the German Guides! Unfortunately, it is likely that no one currently at Schleich has first hand knowledge of production that occurred nearly 20 years ago. These details get muddier with time.
Next, I turned to Frank Oswald, author of "Der Schlumpf Katalog IV." He told me they used old Schleich wholesale offer sheets for the Schleich #'s in the catalogs, but that he does not have them anymore, and that they came from an old contact at Schleich he no longer has. He also said that, to his knowledge, the pink cone was sold for 3 years, and that the orange and green cones were distributed only as give-a-ways to children starting school. However Schleich came into some trouble with the European law because the cones pulled too easily from the Smurfs' hands. Production was stopped, and all inventory was destroyed. This is why these pieces are so hard to find.
Boy, I sure wish Suzanne Lipschitz were here to tell her side of the story, but she is laughing with Peyo at the stir his little blue men are making down here!
One thing is for sure: 20221 is the only number the Schleich catalogs ever used, and the pictured cone was always pink or green.
For now, the question remains unanswered. Perhaps the best thing to do, to ensure both parties understand what is being discussed, is to describe the cone color whenever you are referring to one of these pieces. Do not rely on a Schleich #, since it does not look like there is going to be agreement on this issue.
