General Information

The following information has been collected from original newspapers, catalogs, and magazines, some of which are freely available for reference below. The rest can be found in the site’s gallery. No aggregate catalogs (BrickLink, Brickset, etc.) were used.

Instructions: B-2347

Advertised Part Count(s): 328 pieces + 120 pieces for truck model

1968 Parade Magazine Promotion

First Year Confirmed Available: 1968

Note that this set was not the origin of the promotional truck model.

USA Only.

Most Likely Retirement Date: 1968

The Parade Magazine Promotion was only ran once.

Aliases: LEGO Treasure Chest

Retail Price(s): $14.99 (USA)

Rarity Score (Rarity Index): 7/7

Box/Overview

The LEGO Treasure Chest was among several previously unknown or otherwise mysterious LEGO Samsonite sets to appear in the one-off 1968 promotion through Parade magazine, which was completely undocumented before the compilation of this site.

On the surface, the LEGO Treasure Chest did not seem unique or groundbreaking. It was among a number of other LEGO Samsonite sets to use the LoveLand Carrying Case, and it carried a very close piece count to the 321-piece Kraft carrying case set that also released in 1968. Below is an example of the Treasure Chest set:

Maybe you noticed it in the pictures, however, as this set carried something very unique compared to all other Samsonite sets: it was sold with a free 120-piece truck model:

Those instructions have a preparation date of 1967, an entire year before the Treasure Chest sold, implying an earlier promotional use. I've written an article about my investigation into The 1968 Parade Magazine Promotion, but I won't get into it much here.

What I find particularly fascinating about the Treasure Chest is that its inclusion within the Parade promotion is contradictory. In my investigative article, I found the promotion consistent with a promotional overstock clearout, and even the truck model is consistent with that. Only the Treasure Chest doesn't align with that observation, as it has no known prior ancestor. So I'm left a little confused.

My goal is to eventually scan the Parade promotion in full color, but unfortunately it is a very difficult newspaper supplement to get my hands on. Even worse, by sheer luck I stumbled upon and purchased the exact one that this promotion was in, but it was completely missing, meaning that the promotion was also limited regionally in some regard.

Contents

While the Treasure Chest itself had basic contents and no exclusive parts, the truck model's instructions are most commonly found in these case sets. I have trouble saying they were exclusive to the Treasure Chest entirely, but in terms of retail availability, the instructions were exclusive to this set.