Cigar boxes

Cigar boxes are works of craftsmanship in their own right. The best cigars come in cigar boxes that are as carefully made as the cigars themselves. Many are hand made and require a certain degree of expertise. The wood is often cedar and their natural colors are exquisite.

People usually threw away their cigar boxes after they finished their cigars, and now they might be kicking themselves for that. Boxes are collector's items that can reach high prices, they are auctioned and taken care for. The labels in the boxes are also collection material, and some labels are over a hundred years old. The artists that drew them are now being recognized for their great work. Many collect the labels, others the whole box.

With the ban of all things Cuban, the boxes from the island are treasures for many. Even counterfeiters want them, you see, they get original Cuban cigar boxes, place fake cigars and sell them for the real thing, with great profits. If you purchase a cigar box, or boxes of a Cuban brand, the current law determines that you will be fined with a $250,000 dollar fine and 10 years in Jail, even if you purchase the cigar boxes in Cancun or Vancouver. You don't need to get them to the US to be a delinquent, you will be fined and jailed because you bought it, even if the purchase wasn't in the US, or the cigar boxes never taken into the US!

Many people use their cigar boxes for decoration. They paint and varnish them to produce very modern designs. You can make with them almost anything you think of. You can store pencils, office supplies, pictures, spare paper, small toys for kids that never seem to find a home, etc. The new trend is to make bags out of them, girls are loving them and have become incredibly popular. So popular, in fact, that some fashion stores are mass producing them, but the real prized ones are the ones made out of real cigar boxes! The process of converting ordinary cigar boxes into hand bags has become an art on itself, and because they are hand made, they are well paid, some costing $200 dollars.

There are many places where you can get your hands on some cigar boxes, ebay is one that pops into mind, but there are a lot of people who smoke who don't know or don't care about their boxes and will be glad to give them away.