OVER 800 LOTS OF VINTAGE TOYS AND COLLECTIBLES WILL BE SOLD IN AN INTERNET AND CATALOG AUCTION ENDING DEC. 2-3 BY SERIOUSTOYZ.COM
The unreserved sale will feature hundreds of collectible near-mint and mint-in-the box toys.
(CROTON-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.) – Over 800 lots of rare and desirable vintage toys and collectibles – many of them near-mint or mint-in-the-box examples– will be sold without reserve (but with modest minimum opening bids) in an Internet and catalog auction that will begin in mid-November and conclude Dec. 2-3 by Serious Toyz (www.SeriousToyz.com).
“I am really impressed by the quality and depth of the collections consigned to this auction,” said Tom Miano, owner of Serious Toyz. “Usually we have 40 or 50 consignors all contributing to any given sale. But this one has fewer than 15 consignors, with the vast majority of pieces coming from only five or six collections.” This will be the 54th auction for Serious Toyz.
Offerings will include more than two dozen early glass candy containers of all sizes and themes (including a rare and desirable Felix the Cat piece); and building sets, from makers like Erector, Meccano, Richter, Anchor and Bing (including a giant Bing stone block set, circa 1880, with three layers of trays and weighing over 50 pounds). Most sets are complete and unused.
Battery-operated toys will be served up in abundance, and every one is in perfect working order. Coin-operated machines will feature a 1930s “All-Win Deluxe” gambling machine, a 1960s “Health Garde” condom machine (with original contents), a 1933 “Select-‘Em” dice gambling machine and a 1902 clockwork “Zero Chewing Gum” machine. All the coin-ops are in good working order and come with keys.
Wind-up and friction tin toys will be sold by makers from Germany, Japan, the U.S. and elsewhere, in a variety of categories. Figures sets of plastic, rubber and lead will also be well-represented, and there will be several desirable playsets, including the rare version of Marx’s “Fire House.”
Fans of promo cars from the 1950s and ‘60s will be impressed by the fact that just about every one of the nearly 20 to be sold is mint in the original box. Plastic vehicles and sets from highly collectible makers like Renwall, Aurora, Hubley, Ideal, Banner, Thomas and others show no cracks or breaks, while over 30 pre-war rubber vehicles, all with original paint, will be sold.
An outstanding array of die-cast vehicles (a staple in most Serious Toyz auctions) will come up for bid, including hundreds of 1950s-‘60s Matchbox cars, all mint in the box. A great group of 1950s-era pressed steel vehicles (by Tonka, Nylint, Structo and Marx) will also be offered, in boxes with inserts.
Serious Toyz is also proud to present a fine selection of near-mint and mint lunchboxes and thermoses, consigned by Joe Soucy, the noted collector and author of Warman’s Lunchboxes Field Guide. Some of the pieces to be sold are, in fact, pictured in Mr. Souncy’s book. Others are so rare they’re not pictured in any book. All would be welcome additions to anyone’s collection.
The sale will also feature a nice selection of advertising character items, to include an unused 1949 Coke window sign promoting Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy’s TV show, and a large, 1930s die-cut retail sign for “Bickmore Easy-Shave Cream” (featuring none other than Ronald Reagan). Other familiar faces from television, movies, sports and more will also be represented.
Rounding out the list of just some of the auction’s expected top lots are a previously unknown 1955 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Disney local movie house poster, some large framed original photographs from the corporate offices of the New York Central Railroad, and a wide range of cartoon friends from Disney, Hanna-Barbera, King Features and more (1920s-‘60s).
All lots will be sold, regardless or price, and hundreds of lots will carry opening bids as low as $10, allowing collectors at all levels to get in on the action. Serious Toyz offers online bidders a sophisticated, yet easy-to-use, website to register, place bids and track the action as it happens. Each item has multiple, oversize online views and its own live countdown clock.
Bidders without computer access can use their beautiful printed color catalog ($10 postpaid, $15 international, call to order) to check and/or place bids by phone (by calling toll-free, 1-866-OLD-TOYZ) or by mail (Serious Toyz, 1 Baltic Place, Croton-on-Hudson, NY 10520). Auction rules are structured to ensure online bidders have no advantages over phone bidders.
There are no “sudden death” endings in SeriousToyz.com auctions. Each lot has its own computerized “clock,” and items will close individually when 60 minutes pass without a bid. As such, there is no advantage or need for participants to wait for the last minute to place a bid, especially if they are bidding by phone. Pre-registration with a valid credit card is required before a bid can be placed.
SeriousToyz.com was launched in 1995 by Tom and Patti Miano, dedicated toy collectors who turned their passion into a thriving business. For 15 years, they’ve sold thousands of items to discriminating collectors worldwide. Serious Toyz has earned numerous Toy Shop Magazine customer service awards, and is widely regarded as one of the premier old toy auction house in the U.S.
Serious Toyz are contributors to vintage toy price guides, such as Schroeder’s Collecting Toys & Toys & Prices. Serious Toyz is always accepting quality consignments for future sales. To consign a single toy or a whole collection, you may call Serious Toyz toll-free, at (866) 653-8699; or you can e-mail them at auctions@SeriousToyz.com.
For more information about SeriousToyz.com and the current auction ending Dec. 2-3, please log on to www.SeriousToyz.com. Check the website as November approaches for the sale’s start date. Friday, Dec. 2 is the official end date for characters and classic toys. Saturday, Dec. 3, is the sale’s end date for the toy vehicles category.