The demand for toys and railwayana has strengthened in lockdown sparking a sell-out sale at Hansons Auctioneers.
Some 230 lots went under the hammer in the firm’s February 5 Toy, Railwayana and Gaming Auction and every single item sold, making it a white-glove sale.
The highlight was a fantastic collection of handmade steam locomotives, discovered in a Nottinghamshire property, which together raised more than £25,000.
Lot 4091.
Star items included lot 4091, a scratch-built, live steam, 2ins scale traction engine which made £3,100. In addition, lot 4090, a live steam traction engine bearing the words ‘N.R. Frisby, 1998’, reached £1,900 and lot 4067, a 3 1/2ins gauge, 0-8-0, locomotive and tender, made £1,700.
However, results were strong across all sectors. For example, lot 4165 a collection of American X-Men comics, made £950; lot 4179, a large array of miniature bears, achieved £900; lot 4130, 80 Star Wars figures, sold for £850 and lot 4229, a dolls house, was contested to £800.
Lot 4179 and lot 4229.
Charles Hanson, managing director of Hansons Auctioneers, said: “It was a record-breaking sale realising £60,000 with a full 100% sale rate. From old to new prices were sky high. The market for vintage and retro toys and games is well and truly on the radar of collectors at both a national and international level.
“Over the years we have often seen fantastic results achieved for 1930s to 1960s toys, such as Dinky and Corgi vehicles. Now we’re seeing new stars emerge as nostalgia moves on a generation. The market for 1970s Star Wars toys is as strong as ever and buyers are also keen to acquire 80s and 90s gaming consoles and games from the likes of Sega and Nintendo. This is an important growth area which has been gathering pace since last summer.”
In the February 5 sale, lot 4217, a boxed Nintendo GameCube console with accessories and assorted GameCube games including Pac-Man World 2, Sonic Heroes and Mario Party 4, made £340.
Lot 4130 and lot 4217.
“The toy market is fuelled by nostalgia and collectors like to buy items relating to their childhood or youth once they reach an age where they have the financial resources to do so,” said Charles. “It now appears that the world’s huge gaming community has joined the collectors’ market.”
Hansons specialist Toy Department is led by David Wilson-Turner and Steve Fulford. Entries are invited until April 9 for Hansons’ April 22 Toy Auction. To arrange a free valuation, email [email protected]. Cameras are also included in the toy sales. A collection of cameras including Hasselblad and Leica, sold for more than £3,000 in the February auction.
