First sale of the year, and it delivered:
The hawl consists of a dozen Lesney Matchbox, an empty box, and a case. The back story - most sales in this area are operated by companies, kind of pseudo antique dealers who will hold a house sale for the heirs, as with the real estate boom here these days, many just want the house sold to get that winning lottery ticket, and don’t care about the contents. This sale was advertised by a company I have bought toys from before, and I noticed some Matchbox in the ad, jumbled in a case and container. I also spotted an error in the ad, so I emailed the proprietor to correct the error, and chatted her up about the Matchbox - she’s familiar with my past purchases. I asked if they were going to be sold as a lot or individually, as I didn’t want them all. I was expecting them to be sold as a lot, but I arrived first thing this morning, and they were individually priced. I think she did it to be helpful, but I was kind of hoping to buy the lot and sell the unwanted castings here. At least this way I don’t have unneeded material. Anyway, on to the castings:
First, the highlights: 3 different varieties of the 22b Vauxhall Cresta. Amazing. I saw only one in the ad, and three were waiting for me this morning (I was first in line). This is probably the most desirable Regular Wheels casting, even though these are loose and not 100% mint, they are still very sought after. The one at far left appears to be the pink over sea green variety - I am pretty sure that’s what it is. Check the Nick Jones site for his estimate of the value of a mint boxed example - this appears to be a high rarity. The lilac and grey one is pretty with silver wheels, and the brown and sea green one has more wear, but is still a Cresta! And to top it off, a scarce red 32a Jaguar XK140 in nice shape:
A couple other passenger cars, I chose just because I like the castings. Excellent loose examples of the 55b Ford police car, and 57b Impala:
The heavy vehicles include an 35a Marshall horse box with less common black wheels, a 40b Leyland coach with less common grey wheels, a 56a tram with less common black wheels, a 5b bus with less common Players Please decals, a 42a Bedford news truck with less common black wheels, a 10c Foden sugar tanker with black wheels, and a complete nice empty box for a 35b Snow-Trac:
I also got a very nice 1966 issue carrying case - these were NA market only, I think, sold by Fred Bronner, who was the original importer of Matchbox to this side of the world. This would usually be too new for me, but it is in remarkable condition for something made of vinyl and cardboard, and the price was right. It is completely intact and clean, including the inner flaps and cardboard dividers:
There were a bunch of other Regular Wheels, all loose, some more worn than others, nothing rare, prices between $5-12 - just a little less than a toy show. But when a lot like this comes up, full of uncommon variations, I think only a collector will realize it. These must have all been bought during a golden time between around 1960-64, when there were many short run color and wheel variations and combinations, most of which are highly desired today.
Not a bad first hawl of the year. It wasn’t the cheapest (I think the seller is catching on)- this lot cost me over $100, but it appears the pink and green Cresta could easily be worth that alone. As it is a casting I like anyway, definitely no buyer’s remorse here.
That is all.