Prices of yesterday?

Some believe that the Lesney Yesteryear series is in the doldrums but the Vectis July sale gave the lie to that assumption, with many of the lots sold fetching over £100.

Colour varieties, as ever, were what the punters sought - and they were not disappointed. The bulk of the sale was made up of Code 2 Yesteryears, many of which did very well, but some real gems stole the limelight.

The Y2 Prince Henry Vauxhall in blue with bright red seats certainly set the pace, with bidders pushing a pair of examples (with and without floor brace) to £220. The Y4 Shand Mason Fire Engine with bronze coloured horses and the firemen still on a sprue certainly fanned the flames, and this example finally settled on £180. And the colour trials continued to dominate: £260 was bid on a Y8 Sunbeam Motorcyle and sidecar in yellow, with a blue version making a creditable £220.

One gift set, that of G6, was an early example of the genre and this group soared off to make £180.

The real surprise in the sale was arguably Lot 56, a group of four Y 7 Mercer Raceabouts, which included the scarce yellow radiator shell version: bidding closed on £540 on this quartet, against a very low estimate.