If vintage toys are gathering dust in the loft, garage or under the bed a toy expert heading to a Leicestershire toy exhibition this week would love to see them.
Steve Fulford, toy valuer at Hansons Auctioneers, will be at offering free valuations of toys and collectables at a special event celebrating 100 years of toy making in the county.
Free exhibition, The Many Faces of Palitoy, is currently taking place at the former Palitoy factory in Coalville – and Steve will be there on Thursday, October 31, from 10am-3pm.
Join him at Heartwood Conference Centre, Rothley House, Jackson Street, and he will be able to tell you if your vintage toy, doll or teddy is valuable.
Leicestershire and Coalville in particular are renowned for making a multitude of famous playthings including Star Wars Toys, Tiny Tears dolls, Action Man and games such as Trivial Pursuit.
Steve said: “Being a huge toy fan myself, I can’t wait to see this exhibition. The former Palitoy factory has put Leicestershire and Coalville on the map at a global level, mainly thanks to the tremendous demand for vintage Star Wars items.”
Hansons has sold items belonging to former Palitoy employers which have gone on to make thousands of pounds.
In June, Star Wars collectors splashed out tens of thousands of pounds on 90 toys at Hansons including £2,100 for a small plastic spaceship which had been languishing in a Leicestershire loft for nearly 40 years.
The rare Tie Bomber Authentic Imperial Spacecraft toy from film The Empire Strikes Back, owned by a man who worked at the Palitoy factory where the toys were made in the 1980s, was among star lots.
Its estimate of £200-£300 was smashed to smithereens before the auction even started with advance bids catapulting the price into orbit.
In addition, two Empire Strikes Back Boba Fett figures made £2,300 and £900 respectively, the lower price due to a slight bubble in the packaging. Their original estimates were £300-£500 each. Overall, Star Wars bidders paid hammer prices totalling £24,000 for 90 Star Wars lots in the specialist toy auction.
Steve Fulford will be at Heartwood Conference Centre, Rothley House, Jackson Street, Coalville, LE67 3NR on Thursday, October 31, 10am-3pm. To find our more, or to arrange a free toy valuation, email [email protected]
