I’d say the most iconic image of Christmas is children peering through the window of a toy store to see what treasures it may hold. Be it in a small town or large city, in a Norman Rockwell painting or on The Waltons, it reflects the essence of childhood – something that never leaves us.
As the adage goes, “Men are but children of a larger growth.” While so many iconic toy stores are now just memories, one example of enduring childhood is found in train stores that, for now, are still around. A visit to one won’t result in finding young children fawning over shelves of locomotives, train cars and scaled buildings on display. Instead, inside old men sit around reminiscing.
With Christmas now behind us, some toys, including trains, may prove to be not only nostalgic but profitable.
The 1960s were probably the most transitory years for toys. Dolls remained tops on the lists of most girls. Barbie had been introduced in 1959. She took a few years to catch on but, when she did, she exploded becoming the most popular doll in history. Some of the very earliest Barbies are worth thousands of dollars. One with red hair and bendable legs and arms in the original box is currently valued at just over $25,000....
In 1964, boys too became interested in dolls when G.I. Joe hit the scene. Replete with a scar on his face, Joe embodied the “everybody” US fighting man. Originally retailing for $4.00, in 2003, a prototype of the first “G.I. Joe” sold for $200,000. More recent “Joes” can also have great value. A 1990’s version in its original packaging called, “G.I. Joe "Manimals Vortex MOC C-7" sold for over $20,000.
By the middle of the 1960s, space travel captivated everyone’s imagination. In 1961, Alan Shepherd was the first US astronaut to fly in a rocket traveling a mere 116 miles. Barely a year later, John Glenn orbited the earth three times. Toys of the day mirrored the intrigue kids had with space.
Toy helmets and space suits that kids could wear flew off the shelves. So too for cardboard space capsules they could actually climb in. Later in the decade, toys became more moon-oriented. In 1969, the year of the Apollo 11 moon landing, a Snoopy doll wearing a helmet sold for a few dollars. Today it is worth upwards of $300.
By the 1970s, Superman, Batman, the Six-Million Dollar Man and Bionic Woman soared. All were soon eclipsed by the franchise of Star Wars. Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker became household names. Models of the movie’s space ships and actors flew off store shelves.
In 1977, an R2D2 Star Wars lunch box was manufactured. For some reason only a very few were released. Each of those is now worth over $3,000. Those don’t hold a candle to Star Wars comic book #1. Also first sold in 1977, in top condition it now sells for over $13,000. You can more than double that price for small figurines of Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi with telescoping light sabers.
The Holy Grail of Star Wars collectibles is an original Boba Fett Rocket Launcher. The small action figure with a rocket strapped to his back has a current price tag of between $125,000 and $150,000. More examples of valuable toys found under Christmas trees in the 1980s, ‘90s and new millennium ranging from Teddy Ruxpin to Ghostbusters and Sesame Street go on and on – some for big money.
It also goes without saying, it’s not young kids paying these astronomical sums for these toys.
The key to value is often original packaging. Fans of the TV show The Big Bang Theory know a collectible toy that is “mint-in-box” versus “used” can mean the difference between being worth $1,000 or merely $10. The best part is that many such “mint-in-box” toys still wait to be found in forgotten drawers and storage areas. 2021 could be the year a few fortunes are found.
As for those guys hanging out in the train stores, they may know more than we think. For instance, the Lionel trains we had at Christmas. To the untrained eye most appear much like the others that ran around our trees. Those “in the know” understand a Lionel set from 1934 has a current value of over $250,000. That’s something to reminisce about.
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