Vectis

The importance of an original box in good condition to the value of a toy is well known. But what about a display without any toy in sight, box or no box?

The Doll & Bears Sale at Vectis (20.83% buyer’s premium) in Stockton-on-Tees included this rare Disney Donald Duck from the 1930s.

The Matchbox Superfast 74a Daimler Fleetline Bus estimated at £60-80 as Lot 214 in the Vectis (27% buyer’s premium inc VAT) sale on October 31 made £35, while the version guided at £50-70 two lots later made £120.

Although Gallipoli in the Great War became a defining moment in Australian nationhood and identity, the second Boer War from 1899-1902 featured the first-large scale involvement of troops from Down Under.

The Matchbox Magic sale at Teesside saleroom Vectis (20.83% buyer’s premium) on May 30 lived up to its billing by entrancing bidders.

Showing little sign of their huge popularity slowing down, Star War figures made a significant contribution to a two-day TV and film-related auction.

A buyer got their teeth into an antique doll at auction despite the foot being chewed off by the family' pet dog.

Models produced for promotional purposes usually benefit from considerable rarity value and so it proved when a Dinky toy came up for auction at Stockton-on-Tees saleroom Vectis.

Vectis Auctions is expanding into new categories and has added three new departments.

Forget names such as Palitoy, Britains, Dinky, Sindy, Bing and Marklin for a moment – recent auctions have shown the demand that can exist for lesser-known manufacturers and brands in the toys world.

This Japanese ‘Super Car’ tinplate vehicle is an unlicensed model, probably based on the Supercar vehicle from Gerry Anderson’s 1960s UK television series.

To mark the new range of Star Wars toys that came with the release of Return of the Jedi in 1983, the Leicester firm Palitoy commissioned a series of hand-built and hand-painted store displays to send to some of its best retailers.

The latest Tinplate & Specialist Toy sale at Vectis (20.83% buyer’s premium inc VAT) in Stockton-on-Tees included this large-scale tinplate clockwork vintage car by the Gebruder Bing factory of Nuremberg.

As in so many collecting fields, slight variations can be key when it comes to pricing of TV generation toys.

What was billed as ‘the finest Matchbox collection to be auctioned in recent years’ was offered at Vectis (20% buyer’s premium) in the spring.

The fortnightly Saturday afternoon TV show Whirligig was the first children’s programme to be broadcast live from the BBC studios in Lime Grove, Shepherd’s Bush.

Copies of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone impressed in several summer sales.