The tiny van with the massive price tag: Sought-after Dinky toy that is one of the rarest ever made is just three inches long but will set you back £7,000
- The 3.25in Monks & Crane van, made between 1954 and 1960, on sale for £7,000
- It is expected to attract ‘huge interest’, according to Special Auction Services
A tiny Dinky Toy van which is ‘one of the rarest ever made’ is on auction for thousands of pounds.
The 3.25 inch long grey and blue Monks & Crane van, made between 1954 and 1960, is on sale for £7,000 at Special Auction Services, Newbury, Berkshire.
The toy, which has ‘a few minor chips’, is expected to attract ‘huge interest’ as there are only two known surviving examples of the model, according to a toy expert.
Dave Kemp, toy expert at Special Auction Services, said: ‘This is one of the rarest Dinky toys ever made with only two known examples.
‘The accompanying letter from Monks & Crane Ltd only strengthens it provenance and adds value to an already scarce model. I anticipate it generating huge interest amongst collectors.’
The 3.25 inch long grey and blue Monks & Crane van (pictured), made between 1954 and 1960, is on sale for £7,000 at Special Auction Services, Newbury, Berkshire
The toy, which has ‘a few minor chips’, is expected to attract ‘huge interest’ as there are only two known surviving examples of the model, according to a toy expert
Dave Kemp, toy expert at Special Auction Services, said: ‘This is one of the rarest Dinky toys ever made with only two known examples’
Dinky Toys were made by British toy company Meccano Ltd from 1934 and manufactured in Liverpool, England.
They pre-dated other brands like Corgi, Matchbox and Mattel’s Hot Wheels but the trade name was bought by Matchbox International Ltd in the late 1980s. The sale takes place on July 18.
In May, a Star Wars toy collection was sold at auction for £322,000, with individual figures going for up to £11,400 each.
The hoard of rare memorabilia fetched a huge sum of more than ten times its pre-sale estimate when they went under the hammer at Vectis Auctions in Stockton-on-Tees on April 25 and 26.
The most valuable item was a Kenner Star Wars vintage ‘The Power of the Force’ Anakin Skywalker figure as seen in the 1983 film Return of the Jedi was priced at roughly £5,000 and sold for £11,400.
Auctioneers were also stunned when a Palitoy Star Wars vintage Return of the Jedi Security Guard figure, which was estimated at around £300, made a whopping £6,000.
A mint condition Palitoy Star Wars vintage Cantina Action Playset was valued at around £500 but sold for £4,320.
A Kenner Star Wars vintage ‘The Power of the Force’ AT-AT Driver figure, estimated at around £2,000, later went on to make £5,280.
Two other figures, both of a ‘The Power of the Force’ Yak Face, reached roughly double their estimates, selling for £10,200 and £6,000 each.
Vectis Auctions claims to be the world’s largest toy and collectables auction house.
