Buying and Selling Collectibles: Antique Toys

About the hobby of collecting, buying, and selling old and used items for fun and profit, in this case antique toys

Toys. In the Gay Nineties, many a child thrilled to find a cast-iron fire engine, drawn by cast-iron horses and manned by cast-iron firemen, under the Christmas tree. As toy making evolved, stamped tin replaced cast iron; then plastic replaced tin. Collectors now prize those cast irons as highly as did the original owners. A horse-reel wagon, which carried the hose spool, made by Wilkins around 1880, sells for $250--$300. Carpenter's steam fire engine of the same date is worth $225 to $275. In the same price category is a wagon marked "Fire Patrol," packed with firemen riding to the blaze site, offered by Wilkins around 1900.