Toys section fetches great results for Halls

While it was the pistols and swords that stole the headlines at Halls’ Collectables Auction on 11th January, the toys section certainly more than held its own.

A large collection of 1930s Britains lead solders in a two-tier display box made £340 (pictured above), while a Bowman 4-4-0 locomotive and tender from the same decade sold at £260, with a pond yacht dating from the early 1900s making £230.

A boxed Corgi Toys Lotus Racing Team Gift Set sold at £230, with a Dinky Toys Robertson’s Golden Shred Delivery Van going at £190. A 1937 Dinky Toys No 25 Shell BP Petrol Tanker fetched £170 while a selection of boxed Dinky Toys models in need of restoration reached £230.

A selection of 10 Matchbox vehicles sold for £220, as did another group of boxed Clifford Series models, including a Triumph 2000.

“The word in the toy trade is that Matchbox models will continue to climb in value because they are attractive to collectors as a less expensive alternative to Dinky and Corgi,” said Stewart Orr, Halls’ toy specialist, who is already gathering items for its next toy auction on 2nd May.

As to the Clifford Series models success, Mr Orr added: “These models were once regarded as cheap and cheerful and of no collectable value, but they are quite accurate representations of the real thing and there is a big following for the Triumph 2000 model in particular.”

Other highlights in the toys section included £260 for a large steam plant, in need of restoration, attributed to Marklin, and £210 each for a group of six boxed Tri-ang Minic Motorway vehicles and two original Thunderbirds toys by JR21.

The militaria section of the sale included a pair of early 18th century 55 bore pocket pistols by Haynes and Co, which made £1,300.