Tonka manufactured the Jewel Tea semi in 1954, 1955 and 1956. It should be noted the 1956 version is more difficult to find since the manufactured quantities were substantially less than in 1954 and 1955. In fact, consensus among Jewel Tea and Tonka private label collectors is that less than 10% of the known 1954, '55 and '56 semis are 1956 versions. The 1956 version was never available through the Jewel Tea catalog. The 1955 Jewel Tea semi was featured on the front cover of the 1955 Jewel Tea Christmas catalog. Thanks to Richard Gresh for sharing his historical knowledge.
Jewel was founded in Chicago, Illinois, by Frank Vernon Skiff in 1899 as a door-to-door delivery service for coffee. In 1902 it took the name Jewel Tea Company when Skiff partnered with Frank P. Ross, later moving to Barrington, Illinois in 1930. In 1932 Jewel acquired the Chicago unit of Loblaw Groceterias, Inc., then a chain of 72 self-service stores and four Chicago grocery stores operated by the Middle West Stores Company, and began operating them under the name Jewel Food Stores, Inc.
In 1934, Jewel Food Stores merged with Jewel Tea Company. In the 1960s and 1970s, Eisner Food Stores, located in downstate Illinois and west central Indiana (Lafayette, West Lafayette, Indiana), were part of the Jewel company; some time in the early 1980s, those store were converted to the Jewel name. Jewel sold its home shopping service in 1981.
Before 1970, Jewel stores were typically located on main arteries of city streets. Between 1970 and 1990, Jewel moved or expanded most of their stores to be freestanding buildings with ample parking. After its 1961 acquisition of Osco, Jewel built and operated many side-by-side stores during the 1960s and 1970s, but most construction after 1983 consolidated Jewel and Osco stores together as one large store under one roof.
Jewel Food Stores was taken over by American Stores in 1984.
To consolidate the names of some of its subsidiaries under one title with nationwide recognition, American Stores renamed some of its Skaggs Alpha Beta stores to Jewel Osco in mid-September 1991. American replaced the Skaggs Alpha Beta name with that of Jewel Osco on all 76 stores in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Arkansas. Within months, the renamed stores in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas would be sold to Albertsons.
Jewel became part of Albertsons holdings in 1999 when American Stores was taken over. ~ Courtsey Wikipedia
Value: A clean 1955, original, unretouched, very good plus condition semi, shiny paint with very, very few scratches and minimal spidering on the cab and trailer, decals excellent plus with some pitting under the trailer decals, no carton, sold on eBay for $1126 USD in early November 2007.
Value: A clean 1955, original, unretouched, very good plus condition semi, featured below, shiny paint with minimal scratches but at least one 3/8 inch plus sized paint imperfection on the top of the trailer, decals excellent plus, no carton, sold on eBay for $1200 USD in mid January 2008.
Value: A clean 1955, original, unretouched, very good condition semi, typical paint loss on the fifth wheel and saddle tanks, otherwise shiny paint with minimal scratches, decals excellent, no carton, sold on eBay for $1000 USD in early May 2008.
Value: A clean 1954, original, unretouched, very good condition semi, typical paint loss on the fifth wheel and saddle tanks, otherwise shiny paint with typical scratches, a few BB size dings, decals excellent, no carton, sold on eBay for $909 USD in early May 2008.
Value: A 1954, original, unretouched, good condition semi, paint tired, typical paint loss on the fifth wheel and saddle tanks, decals very good to excellent, no carton, sold on eBay for $377 USD in mid July 2008.
Original, unretouched 1955 Jewel Tea semi
 Detail of Trailer Undercarriage |
 Detail of Cab Undercarriage |
Original, unretouched 1956 model. From the Skip Erb collection