Above: Original Yonezawa (Japan) 10in tin windup Diamond Planet Robot, rare variation with blue body and red arms, 100% original, with high-quality repro box. Sold within estimate for $33,210 Fueled by international interest, many postwar Japanese toys landed above-estimate prices, as did classic American Marx toys WILLOUGHBY, Ohio – Nearly 880 lots of high-quality antique […]

Above: Beautiful 16in Carette (Germany) limousine, early transition version of lithographed tin with rubber tires. All original including the four original lamps and beveled glass. A stunning example. Estimate $8,000-$12,000 WILLOUGHBY, Ohio – Are you a European antique toy fan? If so, you won’t want to miss Milestone’s December 10 Winter Toy Extravaganze. The 873-lot […]

Above: Encased Star Wars (1978) 3.75in Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi 12 Back-A double-telescoping lightsaber action figure with SKU on footer denoted earlier production, AFA 75 Ex+/NM. Extremely rare and only the third carded specimen of its type ever to be offered by Hake’s. Sold for $79,178 Featured: Encased Star Wars 1978 Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi double-telescoping lightsaber […]

Winter’s Sports Toys Artists in Tinplates Gallery By Pasky East Coast – West Coast – Gulf Coast: Prized Toys and Banks from Three Legendary Collections Unite at Bertoia’s Nov. 17-18 Annual Fall Auction Part II Weart Collection Of Antique Toys Knocks It Out Of The Park Sale Totals Over $1.2 Million at Bertoia Auctions The […]

By Pasky Subscribe now.

Subscribe now.

By Pete R. Oehmen WHAT CAN BE MORE synonymous with Christmas than toys. Most of us get a warm and fuzzy feeling when we think of Christmas past. Automatically we reflect upon our childhood memories. Christmas trees bedazzled with lights and ornaments, wreaths, stockings, little Christmas villages and all the wondrous decorations that would make […]

By Steve Butler NUMEROUS JAPANESE makers of tin toys issued an abundance of renditions of post WWII American vehicles by the mid-1960s. Many of those vehicles were excellent and have become highly sought by collectors. Ichiko was one manufacturer whose toy vehicles seem to have been more consistently superior. Addressed herein are the series of […]

By Steve Butler THE AUGUST 2014 issue of Antique Toy World included an article about a Coast Defense Gun made by Baldwin. That article resulted in more written responses than any of the writer’s 1045 other prior articles appearing in multiple publications. So, when this featured gun recently surfaced at an antique show, it seemed […]

Above: Kyser & Rex (Philadelphia) Roller Skating cast-iron mechanical bank, excellent condition retaining bright original paint colors. Sold for $24,000 Oct. 14 sale continued Schroeders’ philanthropic legacy, with proceeds from 100 lots of “Abby’s Attic Finds” benefiting The Entertainment Community Fund VINELAND, N.J. – After the toy community had the excitement of bidding on treasures […]

Above: Original Yonezawa (Japan) tin windup Diamond Planet Robot, rare variation with blue body and red arms. At 10in high, Diamond Planet is the largest windup robot ever produced. 100% original robot comes with high-quality repro box. Estimate $30,000-$50,000 Featured: Rare-color Diamond Planet Robot, carded 1978 Star Wars vinyl-cape Jawa action figure AFA-graded 80+ NM, […]

Above: Circa-1904 Caille Bros. 5-cent Roulette floor-model slot machine with seven coin-slots. Fresh to the market after being purchased from The Las Vegas Club hotel and casino in the 1970s. The finest original Caille Roulette machine Morphy’s specialists had ever seen, it sold at the midpoint of its pre-sale estimate for $246,000. Circa-1904 Caille Bros. […]

Above: Single-cylinder cutaway motor for 1916 Model K Indian motorcycle. Condition 9 out of 10. Sold for $6,000 against a broad estimate of $100-$10,000 Select additions to sale included luxurious 1936 Packard 1407 Coupe, which glided to $140,400 WILLOUGHBY, Ohio – The multifaceted collection of the late Mark Smith was the cornerstone of an exciting […]

Above: Masudaya Machine Man robot, est. $50,000-$75,000 Featured: The last and best of Bob Brady’s toys, Jack White’s entire collection of mechanical banks, and the Linda and Curtis Smith Christmas collection VINELAND, N.J. – Those who were immersed in the toy-collecting hobby as far back as the 1970s, ’80s or early ’90s – a golden […]

By Steve Butler MENTION A TOOTSIETOY race set to knowledgeable Tootsietoy collectors and most will immediately envision Tootsietoy’s #5081 Speedway Set game. That game consisted of eight #4666 Malcolm Campbell’s land speed racers all with different colors and imprinted numerals. Tootsietoy also assigned to each varied imaginative/bogus combinations of actual race drivers and vehicle makes. […]

In Memory of Rodney Abensur Table of Contents East Coast – West Coast – Gulf Coast: Prized Toys and Banks from Three Legendary Collections Unite at Bertoia’s Nov. 17-18 Annual Fall Auction Simon Gunthermann – The Transport Toys from 1877 until 1939 By Ulrich Schweizer Robots and Space Guns were Unstoppable at Morphy’s $1.5 Million […]

WHILE AUSTRIA has had its own vehicle makes and models such as Steyr and is the birthplace of ingenious vehicle developers like Ferdinand Porsche, historical car miniatures from Austria have largely remained unexplored. Still a child, when author Marco Annau stumbled across an old toy car marked on the base with “Made in Austria” and […]

DENVER, PA – It was playday but it was also payday for those hoping to acquire rare robots and space guns at Morphy’s August 9-10 Toys & Collectibles Auction. The sale took in $1.5 million, with big-ticket items that included a boxed Machine Man Robot, a whimsical Electroman Robot, and an Italian robot-man gumball machine […]

Above: Top: Nintendo N64 (1997) ‘GoldenEye 007’ Rareware game cartridge based on the hit James Bond movie of the same name, VGA 85 NM+. Estimate $10,000-$20,000; Bottom: Nintendo N64 (1999) Super Smash Bros. game cartridge, VGA 85 NM+. Estimate $35,000-$50,000 Rare Star Wars action figures led by 1978 double-telescoping Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi estimated at $100K-$200K; […]

Above: Circa-1904 Caille Bros. 5-cent Roulette floor-model slot machine with seven coin-slots, $200,000-$300,000 Featured: Superlative circa-1904 Caille Bros. 5-cent Roulette floor model slot machine with seven coin-slots, estimated at $200K-$300K DENVER, Pa. – Once found at saloons, hotel lobbies and oceanfront boardwalks all across America, antique coin-op machines are quaint reminders of an era when […]

Above: Gendron 50-inch-long chain-drive pedal car, $24,000. Pedal cars took the lead, with an American National Deluxe Coupe with luxury appointments cruising to $66,000 WILLOUGHBY, Ohio – Milestone Auctions gave collectors what they wanted on September 24th, rolling out a diverse offering of antique and vintage toys from the Mark Smith collection along with high-quality […]

Above: Jill and Kevin Parker, founders and former owners of Route 32 Auctions and The Indy Ad Show. Route 32’s stellar reputation with petroliana collectors and Indy Ad Show’s iconic status in antique advertising hobby make them seamless additions to Morphy’s operation DENVER, Pa. – Dan Morphy, founder and president of Morphy Auctions, announced today […]

Above: Trio of buttons advertising Buster Brown Shoes, offered by Lon Ellis, $600 $5 admission includes entry to show and museum display area plus access to free appraisals by collectibles experts from Hake’s Auctions NORTH CANTON, Ohio – Where can a $5 bill buy collectors an entertaining day of antiques and collectibles shopping, free expert […]

Auction Team Breker Autumn Preview Specialty Auctions »Technical Antiques« Bertoia Auctions Aaron and Abby Schroeder’s Antique Toy Legacy Concludes with Oct. 14-15 Auction Rich Penn Auctions – History Repeats Itself My New Favorite Toy By Don Heim Hubley Survived By Steve Butler Focal Point By Steve Butler Photos from the Chicago Toy Show Next Show […]

YES IT DOES. History will repeat itself at the Rich Penn Auction event, November 4-6, in Waterloo, IA. This exceptional auction includes some of the very best advertising you’ll see in decades. Included is what we believe is the finest piece of cigar advertising ever sold. This piece of history has returned. We sold it […]

By Don Heim MANY TIMES I’M ASKED what is my favorite toy in our personal collection? Usually my answer is “The last toy I got!” This is an unique and interesting story of just such a recent addition and its relationship to the most desirable and beautiful of all the antique cast iron automotive toys. […]

By Steve Butler UNLIKE A NUMBER OF U.S. toy makers, Hubley did return to toy production after WWII. By 1948 the company was beginning to introduce its newly designed toys, items that were not carry-overs from 1941-42. Included were three new toy sets, and their #30 Fire Department was one of the three. That set […]

DOUG CORRIGAN’S PLANE was a 1929 Curtiss Robin OX-5 monoplane powered by a modified Wright Whirlwind J6-5 engine. It was registered as an experimental aircraft. The evidence of many repairs and modifications to the plane resulted in its earning the “Jalopy” description. By 1938 government flight officials had several times denied Doug Corrigan’s application for […]

THE 3rd ANNUAL CENTRAL Florida Antique Toy and Advertising Show was held on February 11 & 12, 2022 and was considered by all who attended to be one of the finest shows in a long time! Many thanks to our Sponsors: Kraft Auctions (Del Harper), Gail and Larry’s Toys and Antiques (Gary Melgary), Smokey Mountain […]

Pictured: Gebroeders Decap dance organ with robot musician figures, Belgium, 1963. Sold for $350,550 against an estimate of $100,000-$200,000 Owner of Florida toy museum pays $350,550 for auction’s top lot: a massive 1963 Belgian dance organ with robot musicians DENVER, Pa. – A trio of robot musicians with a captivating, toe-tapping sound led the parade […]

Pictured: 1936 Packard 1407 Coupe, $120,000-$150,000 740-lot sale features the many fascinating collections of late Virginia businessman Mark Smith WILLOUGHBY, Ohio – When the doors open to Milestone’s auction gallery on Saturday, October 15th, an energized – and eclectic – group of bidders is expected to rush in, grab a coffee and take a last-minute […]

Mark Smith collection of rare automotive and other vintage toys is joined by select additional consignments ABOVE: Duesenberg silver No. 7 gas-powered tether, $4,000-$6,000 WILLOUGHBY, Ohio – If anyone wondered whether new collectors were still entering the antique toy hobby or not, they got their answer last spring when Milestone Auctions closed the books on […]

By Steve Butler THE TOY TRUCK available for purchase was still secured in its original box. Graphics used on boxes for Japanese tin toys do not always represent the actual contents. The “road service truck” pictured on this box seemed to be an oversized pickup in white over red. What appeared to be a small […]

THIS IS GOING to be a hot summer: Anticomondo (Germany) has just set to print a special catalogue about a spectacular automobilia-collection coming from the Italian capital. The temperature is going to raise with every day that the antique toy collectors have to wait for around 140 rare and famous objects from Rome – beautiful […]

Above: Live-steam model of a Fowler showman’s engine, “Katharine”, by John Folder, Leeds. Sold: 6.734 € / $ 7,003. AUCTION TEAM BREKER’S second outing into the world of antique and collectable technology this spring highlighted the extensive collection of retired San Jose teacher James (‘Jim’) Rauen. Though Rauen taught mathematics and published textbooks on the […]

Above: Starting in 1954 F&F Mold & Dies provided General Foods with 3.1″ plastic 1954 Ford and Mercury cars for use as premiums in their Post Grape Nuts Flakes By Steve Butler TOYS DO NOT HAVE to be made of metal to be interesting, collectible or of value. Steel, cast iron, tin and die cast […]

Morphy’s CEO Tom Tolworthy comments: “Not since Sotheby’s 2012 sale of the Milhous Collection have so many rare and exceptional orchestrions come to the auction marketplace.” DENVER, Pa. – The word “unique” can sometimes be overused, but not in the case of the Henri Krijnen mechanical music collection, which will be auctioned at Morphy’s on […]

Noted collectors for several decades, the Wearts also authored ‘Cast Iron Automotive Toys,’ a now-classic reference book about a category that was of particular interest to them VINELAND, N.J. – On September 8-9, Bertoia’s will auction the antique toy collection of the late Bill and Stevie Weart, a couple whose contributions to the toy hobby […]

Sensational 19th-century soda fountain front and backbar with lighted fountain and marble soda dispenser expected to sell for $60,000-$100,000 DENVER, Pa. – Just as nightclubs are today’s social hubs, there was a time, more than a century ago, when the local soda fountain or soda shop was where people went for a light meal or […]

Six unpublished concept artworks for Star Wars daily comic strip commanded a hefty $171,505 YORK, Pa. – Original comic strip art continues to solidify its position alongside fine art in the collector marketplace, with the latest proof coming on day two of Hake’s July 26-27 auction of pop culture rarities. Amongst the highlights of the […]

Table of Contents Morphy Auctions—Toy & General Collectibles August 9, 10 & 11, 2022 Bertoia Auctions Bill & Stevie Weart Building a Collection Reprint from Antique Toy World September 1985 Favorite Toy Boat By Richard T. Claus Focal Point Red Baby Dump Truck Arcade – c. 1924 By Steve Butler 1948 Promotional Literature By Steve […]

By Richard T. Claus FROM THE TIME I first saw this toy over 30 years ago it was on my “must have” list. At that time, however, it was not for sale. Of all the toy boats I have owned throughout my collecting career there was just, je ne sais pas, something appealing about it. […]

By Steve Butler HARVESTER INTRODUCED their Red Baby truck for 1922. The truck was essentially an existing model referred to as a “speed truck” that simply was an advertising attempt painted red to draw attention. But it worked so well that the Arcade Manufacturing Company began producing promotional examples the following year. Most were red […]

By Steve Butler FOUND IN THE SMALLEST of four file cabinets was an11-inch stack of folders and other miscellany that had not been seen for years. It was mostly paper items relating to toys that were made over a few decades in the last century and included a number of copies of related articles and […]

Highlights: Electroman robot ($50K-$100K), boxed Machine Man robot, ($60K-$90K), ‘Seek Him Frisk’ mechanical bank ($40K-$80K), Mad Magazine #1 in comic book format ($9K-$14K) DENVER, Pa. – Many a great toy and bank collection is highlighted by rarities acquired from Morphy’s, which still holds the world record for the highest-grossing one-day toy auction of all time. […]

368-lot sale features Buddy ‘L’ vehicles, Lionel trains, French lead soldiers, 1960s/’70s Murray pedal airplane, vintage games, slot cars, robots and Transformers, many toy discovery lots SOUTHAMPTON, Pa. – On Sunday, July 17th, Stephenson’s Auctioneers of Southampton (suburban Philadelphia), Pa., will conduct the 2022 edition of its popular Summer Trains & Toys Auction, featuring antique […]