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December, 2017 The Antique Shoppe Page 33
Toy Collecting

Kenton Fire Hose
Great Timing and Current Trends Reel No. 879

by Ed Sandford

No one normally will shout out about great opportunities, but I’ll let the cat
out of the bag– It is a great time to collect toys. Why now, why more so than in
the past? Well…. timing is everything.

Toyville Express
by Non Pareli
family would prefer cash. Yet these have and will continue to get soaked up.
‘Black Hole’ collections will continue to swallow up superb toys. So, I foresee
now as a great time to buy the toys you have always envied. That, and you will
find toys for sale now that weren’t previously offered.

Trend— Inflation is Coming and Toys can be a Hedge
Then one must mention inflation. Collecting offers a great opportunity to enjoy
a physical artistic item, care take it, then watch it appreciate as inflation rises.
Just track the price of a loaf of bread, a gallon of milk, or the cost of a pickup
truck and you will see the ravages of time on buying power. Toy collecting can help
you counter the effects of inflation and the paltry savings account rates.
Or just enjoy toys and later reflect on how reasonable your past purchases were
as time marches on.
Trend— Timing is Great Trend— They Don’t Make ’em Like They Used to
as Older Collections are Being Liquidated
Stating the obvious, our old toys are made to standards that are obsolete.
Trendy items are often not the thing to collect. Beanie Babies, Hot Wheels These are evolutionary dead ends where the toys were too heavy, too costly to
toys, and Star Wars toys are hot; prewar and antique toys have fallen out produce, had too much labor, and required expensive postage. The best new
of fashion. I’ll argue that frothy late century toys are at high prices now & products (from a profit perspective) today are ones that miniaturize the toy,
a dangerous area to collect; the kids of the mid-twentieth century are duking automatically paint items, robotically package the toys, and have a minimum
it out, setting record high prices. On the other hand, cast iron toys, prewar of parts and weight.
tin toys, and many Antique toys are currently being offered at very fair prices. Toy Battleship Columbia
We have an older collecting generation that has just passed away and by Hess of Germany
antique toys are more available than ever before. Don Kaufman’s collection is
a perfect example of recent timing. There was just so much to behold and bid
on, and formerly unavailable toys surfaced. Up to that point, similar toys to
his hadn’t been offered for sale in decades.
Trend— We are in Modern Times

Then we are in the midst of a ”modernist” movement as I personally see things.
My observation may have some local bias, but we see modern Ikea furniture
sales spiking, 50’s modern homes becoming trendy again, strong Dwell Magazine
influences, and we are seeing minimalist lifestyles. One can draw a parallel to
the 1950’s or early 60’s living styles.
Back in the 50’s brown furniture and collecting trended down and priceless
antiquities were given away. If you were currently reviewing product options, you would recognize the
Those outmoded items were fairly priced if not an outright steal. Later in the absurdity of making a Buddy L style pressed steel toy with hundreds of parts,
70’s and 80’s collecting cycled back and prices rose. We have a modern parallel then shipping them around the US. Costs are just too high to do this and make a
to those historic times. semi-affordable kids toy. Likewise, we don’t have kids and ladies to hand paint
Trend— Prices are More Affordable cast iron with the dirt-cheap labor costs of the past. Safety, age labor laws, and
Than in the Past times have progressed forward (or at least labor progress has been
made in the West).
Today we have great toys for sale at great On a personal note, I enjoy the toys
prices, especially when you look back and that are evolutionary dead ends. Items
the highs a decade ago. that were made so well and at a high
In the 1980’s, Lehmann toys spiked in price that few could enjoy them; they
prices that haven’t been seen in some were simply labors of love (or economic
time. Marx Popeye toys and Mickey Mouse mistakes). Extra intricate American
toys were white hot a decade ago. This last tins like those of George Brown or
year I’ve found Lehmann windups, Mickey Althof Bergmann didn’t sell well and
Mouse, and Popeye toys at very fair were phased away quickly. Current
prices. populations and X’ed out catalogs
Cast iron toys were at higher support this evolution. Extra-large
prices a decade ago. Right now, I pressed steel items faded away too
see opportunities to great top notch as you see “progress” from 1920’s
Arcade toys at lower prices as well as steel trucks to the 1950’s. Toys with
Hubley toys. more than 4 colors of paint became
Please note that temporary populations of toys imprudent to produce. Hand painting
have been available recently. Many of these buying Marx Cowboy Whoopee Car became too luxurious.
opportunities have been related to estate sales where the
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