Trains

Many early toy trains were made of tin or cast iron with a windup mechanism, but most collectors today are interested in trains with electric motors. An electric-powered train made by Carlisle and Finch in 1896 ran on a metal track, but electric trains became popular only when toy train makers began to use transformers, […]

Don’t Repaint

Never repaint an old metal toy or bank. A new paint job destroys the value of an old toy. A professionally restored pedal car could be worth more with new paint, but that is because collectors of full-sized cars think quality restoration enhances value. Most toy collectors want the old, even worn, finish.

Tin Toys

The earliest manufactured American toys were made of tin. Pieces of tin were cut by hand or machine, assembled, soldered, and painted by hand. Tinsmiths used their scrap pieces left over from making lanterns or cookie cutters to make toys. The first “factory” for tin toys opened in Meriden, Connecticut, during the 1840s. Other toymakers […]

Moving Toys

Clockwork toys were produced in quantity in America from about 1865 to 1900. The toys were quite literally made with brass clockworks on the inside to move the arms or legs of the toy. Moving toys were manufactured from painted or printed tin, wood, cast iron, or cloth. Dancing figures, walking figures, cigarette-smoking men, circus […]

Toy Soldiers

The first lead figures used as toys were made in the third century B.C. Lead, wood, and tin figures were known in almost every civilization and in every century. Until the eighteenth century, the toy soldier was mainly a plaything for royalty and the wealthy. German craftsmen began to make flat tin soldiers in the […]

Iron Toys

America’s first cast-iron toys—pressing irons made with trivets, miniature garden tools, and a few wheeled toys—were produced about 1825. Cast iron banks, cap guns, and doll furniture were made in the 1870s, and American production of cast-iron toys reach its peak in the 1880s. During the following years until the 1920s, cast-iron toys became larger […]

Banks

Metal banks have been made since the late 1860s. The value of a bank today is determined not by age alone, but also by rarity and condition. Some banks of the 1900s are worth more than those made during the 1800s. Original paint is very important. There are mechanical banks, still banks, and registering banks. […]