Wooden toys
A person who has found some old wooden toys might wonder
about how much money he or she might be able to make from selling these
toys. In order to estimate how much old wooden toys might be worth,
a person can:
• Determine the toy’s age – For the most part, handmade
wooden toys were made before the 1850s. In the middle part of the nineteenth
century, advancements in technology allowed companies to begin to make
toys with machines. If an old toy is in good condition, it could be
worth some money.
One of the ways that a person can better determine the age of a wooden
toy is to look for clues on the toy. For example, after 1870 many of
the toys produced in the United States were trademarked. Check the toy
to see if there is a trademark or patent number included on the toy
or on its box. If there is one, there is a good chance that they toy
was manufactured sometime after 1870.
• Look at old catalogs – There are Web sites that include
a look back on yesteryear by including old catalogs that include many
of the popular toys from the era. By checking through these catalogs,
a person may be able to get a better idea for what time period the wooden
toy he or she found was produced in.
• Old or antique – There sometimes is a fine line between
an old wooden toy and an antique wooden toy. The easiest way to differentiate
in between the two is to understand if anybody wants it. A rare, interesting
wooden toy can garner interest from collectors, however a toy that simply
is old probably will not.