A “BATTERED” toy car which has seen better days is still set to fetch a whopping price of £2,400 when it goes under the hammer.
The toy van has a crack in it and the paint is peeling off but is still expected to fetch the huge sum as it is a rare pre-World War 2 example.
The pale green Palethorpes Delivery Van was one of the earliest Dinky models made in the 1930s.
It has a crack on its passenger door and part of the lettering has faded away over the decades.
But it is still set to spark a bidding war at Vectis Auctions, of Stockton-on-Tees, Teeside.
The 3.75ins long lead toy has been consigned by a British collector.
Andrew Reed, Vectis specialist, said: “We believe this Palethorpes delivery van was made between 1934 and 1936 so it is one of the earliest Dinky toys from the Liverpool factory, boosting its appeal with collectors.
“Some like the toys to be in pristine condition but others prefer them to be in ageing and showing wear.
“There is a nostalgia among wealthy older buyers for Dinky toys.
“They would have played with the toys as children and have the disposable income to collect them as they have paid their mortgages off.”
Dinky Toys were made by British toy company Meccano Ltd from 1934 and pre-dated other marques like Corgi, Matchbox and Mattel’s Hot Wheels.
The Dinky trade name was bought up by Matchbox International Ltd in the late 1980s.
The sale takes place tomorrow.
In April this year, a pensioner sold his extensive collection of toy cars for a massive £75,000, after his grandkids didn’t want to inherit them.
Harrie van de Bosch, 80, put over 800 mini car toys up for sale and made the tidy sum on them at an auction.
Among the pricey collection was iconic Ferrari and Maserati models and a particularly unique Weetabix truck.
COMMENTS by Consumer Editor, Alice Grahns:
It’s easy to check if items in your attic are valuable.
As a first step, go on eBay to check what other similar pieces, if not the same, have sold for recently.
Simply search for your item, filter by “sold listings” and toggle by the highest value.
This will give you an idea of how much others are willing to pay for it.
The method can be used for everything ranging from rare coins and notes to stamps, old toys, books and vinyl records – just to mention a few examples.
For coins, online tools from change experts like Coin Hunter are also helpful to see how much it could be worth.
Plus, you can refer to Change Checker’s latest scarcity index update to see which coins are topping the charts.
For especially valuable items, you may want to enlist the help of experts or auction houses.
Do your research first though and be aware of any fees for evaluating your stuff.
As a rule of thumb, rarity and condition are key factors in determining the value of any item.
You’re never guaranteed to make a mint, however.
The final set of toys consisted of over 150 Dinky Toys and hundreds of Bedford Vans that were almost all fully boxed.
The collection started off with the classic Matchbox cars followed by Corgi Chipperfields models before he started to find the more premium toys.
His first ever Dinky Toy was a Citroen Philips Van.
