More About Moomin Mugs - Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently asked questions - more information about Moomin mugs

Tips for choosing the right Moomin mug or other Moomin product

Below these tips you will find additional information about Arabic stamps and Moomin mugs in general.

On top of the deal: Finmug includes a small quality card with each Moomin mug. The quality card states whether the mug has a sticker or no sticker and what condition category it is in. Below you will find more detailed information about fitness classes, stickers and even bottom stamps.
 

Laatukortti muumimukeille

Kunto

Condition

Label & Supergood: Choose this if you collect or want to give new and perfect Moomin mugs as a gift and are happy to pay a little more for hand-checked top quality. The sticker is in excellent condition and this Moomin mug does not even have factory defects in the glaze or the illustration, which can be found in almost every other Moomin mug if you look carefully. This is the mug that the discerning collector chooses from all the mugs when visiting the store, preferably in a good light 😉

Label & Just fine: Choose this if you definitely want an unused mug either for yourself or as a gift, and the recipient of the Moomin product is fine with a regular, store-bought sticky product.
Even though this is a new mug, it may have very common factory defects for Moomin products or other small marks on the glaze or sticker. For the sake of clarity, we have described the most common errors in the glaze or sticker. You can find example pictures at the bottom of the page.

Label & Well used: Choose this if you just want a new, sticky mug a little cheaper and maybe wash the sticker off after you get the Moomin product. Choose this if you don't mind the glaze having a bigger flaw than usual. The product is of course not broken.

Without Label & Supergood: Choose this if you care about quality but not stickers. You can get a new and flawless Moomin mug a little cheaper. This Mug is very likely unused, as we could not find any signs of use or factory defects. This Mug is also a good choice for collecting.

Without Label & Just fine: Choose this if you want a mug that's cheap, but still in reasonable condition. These mugs are mainly bought for normal everyday use. This product doesn't show any traces of use, so you can also get an inexpensive collector's mug for your shelf.

Without Label & Well used: Choose this if you want Moomin products at a very affordable price. This product is intact, but there are very many signs of use. If you don't watch what you eat or drink, this product also does its job well.

 

Label

Thailand: The cheapest sticker option. Choose this if you don't care what country the Mug is made in. Unfortunately, the Arabia factory in Finland stopped manufacturing Moomin products in 2015, so mugs made after 2015 are only available with the Made in Thailand label.

Finland: The most valuable sticker option. Choose this if you collect Moomin mugs with the Made in Finland - Sticker or you want a Moomin product made in Finland. Only a few Moomin mugs offer the Made in Finland option. The list can be found at the bottom of the page.

Fin/Thai: Select this if you want a Moomin product that is possibly made in Finland. Based on the label, it is not possible to conclude whether the product is made in a factory in Finland or Thailand, because it does not state the country of manufacture. The label only says the name of the product and Arabia.fi / Iittala group / designed in Finland.

Thailand (Gold/red/green): Choose the color you like, or collect all the different colored stickers. The summer season mugs released in 2017-2021 had three-color stickers. The 6 mug boxes had 3 green stickers, 2 red stickers and 1 gold sticker. Gold stickers are therefore the rarest, so they are also slightly more valuable.

 

Bottom stamp

By arabia: The cheapest base stamp option. Select this if you don't care about the bottom stamp. Arabia changed the factory mark in 2014, so after 2014 all Moomin products have this bottom stamp.

By arabia & year stamp: Similar to By arabia, but the year of manufacture is also marked on the seasonal products.

Crown: Choose this if you collect crown-stamped Moomin products or if no other base option is available. The crown stamp is on all Arabia's Moomin products that were manufactured in 2014 at the latest.

Crown & year stamp: The most valuable base option. For the first Moomin products between 1997 and 2001, the year of production was added to the stamp. These stamps are therefore very rare.

MOOMIN 75: Choose this if you collect gold-stamped Moomin mugs or otherwise just want a stylish bottom stamp! This is more valuable than a Moomin mug with a crown stamp (without the year stamp).
 

General additional information about Arabic stamps and Moomin mugs


How do you know where the Moomin mug is made?

The country of manufacture is clear from the sticker on the Moomin mug. Moomin mugs made in Finland are at least the Moomin mugs with stickers, whose sticker has the text: Made in Finland. Made in Thailand are the Made in Thailand moomin mugs. The country of manufacture of the Moomin mug cannot be deduced from other labels or the bottom stamp. However, some Moomin mugs are only made in Finland, so in these cases the sticker-free Moomin mugs are also made in Finland.


What does the crown stamp on the Moomin mug mean?

The crown stamp, "Arabia Finland", named by a Moomin mug collector, has been Arabia's factory mark in the years 1981-2014. Some collectors value this crown stamp and therefore collect only crown-stamped products in their collections. However, this crown stamp does not guarantee its Finnishness, as Arabia's Thai factories also printed this crown stamp on the bottom of the Moomin mug until 2014.


What does the year on the bottom of the Moomin mug mean?

The bottom of the Moomin mug can have the year of the start of production, when it was made. The year stamp can be found on Moomin mugs, the production of which was started in 1996-2001. The year can also be found on the bottom of a few special Moomin mugs, for example Moomin Dream and Evening sailing - mugs.

During 2014, the brand of the Arabia factory has changed. After this, the year of manufacture has been added to the bottom of each seasonal mug.
Kruunuleima_ARABIA_FINLAND_2001Pohja_2017



What does "ghost stamp" mean?

The ghost stamp, i.e. the series of two letters and four numbers found on the bottom of the latest Moomin mugs. The letters refer to the place of manufacture and the numbers to the date of manufacture. For example, the mug with the CR1013 stamp was manufactured in October 2013.


What does the Moomin mug sticker mean?

Different labels can have a big impact on the value of a Moomin mug. The appreciation is due to the fact that the origin or age of the Moomin mug can be deduced from the label. The Made in Finland sticker is considered the most valuable sticker because of its Finnishness. The least valuable is the Made in Thailand sticker, because it was not made in Finland. Other labels, such as "arabia.fi" and "Iittala Group", cannot be deduced from their origin.

Made_in_finland_tarramade_in_thailandarabia.fi


Which mugs have different colored stickers?

Since 2017, three-color stickers have been made for the summer season mugs. Depending on the summer season mug, one box (6 pcs) of Moomin mugs usually has 3 pcs of green stickers, 2 pcs of red stickers and 1 pc of yellow stickers. Because of this, the color of the sticker may be important, especially if collectors start collecting stickers of different colors in their collections.

Examples: Summer Theater (2017), Let's go on vacation (2018), Evening Swim (2019), Loikoilua (2020)


Why do some Moomin plates have a picture on both sides?

The first Moomin plates were printed on both sides and sold individually in cardboard boxes. The sticker of the Moomin plate may have been attached to the package. Because double-sided plates are older and, in most people's opinion, nicer, they are also more valuable. Later, the production of plates continued as one-sided.


 

Example pictures of the mistakes that often occur even in first-quality, unused mugs when you carefully examine them.

This type of error occurs in the condition category Sticky & Very Good

The error can be either in the label and/or some kind of factory error in the glaze.

 

Talvinuotio Stockmann muumimuki

Primadonnan hevonen 

Keltainen pikku myy muumimuki Talviuni

 Tiuhti ja viuhti muumimuki

 Seikkailu muumimuki Keltainen myy

Siesta 

 Talvimetsä