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I'm getting sucked in..... non coin collectibles. Aiyeeee@
topstuf
Posts: 14,803 ✭✭✭✭✭
I'm trying to resist. American cast iron toy vehicles. WAY less liquid than coins.
Whazza matta me? :'(
First pic has coins in it so...well.... just.... "so." 
To me they are mid century popular sculpture.
IDIOCY!..... TRYING to apply some semblance of restraint...but.... but.... awwwwww!!!
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If you like it and understand the potential financial returns (or lack thereof), why not collect it.
To keep it coin related, I wonder if the kids who played with these used any rare dates to buy penny candy. Maybe a new 1931-S cent?
Forget about any 'semblance of restraint' at this point. You just might be hooked, which will necessitate at least two types of occasional, if not periodic, fixes.
At least your antiques won't inflict more than a little financial pain. I also collect cacti. In 2014, a helper and I put in 11 saguaros in my front yard. They all required rope to keep them upright while I backfilled the holes. He spaced out a one point and let the rope go slack while we were putting in a small (5 foot) saguaro. It tipped over onto me, and I was bloody, from my left shoulder down to my left knee, from more than a hundred puncture wounds.
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
CJ: 'No one!' [Ain't no angels in the coin biz]
I think it is a great side hobby. And from what I understand, the market is way down on antique toys. So, what better time to get in on the action? Also, old cast iron toys are just visually pleasing and display well.
Here is one I found in my own backyard, metal detecting. An old cavalry soldier protecting my homestead for the last 80 years or so!
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
British Regimental Officer, uniform circa mid to late 19th century.
This Kipling poem would be about him...
You may talk o’ gin and beer
When you’re quartered safe out ’ere,
An’ you’re sent to penny-fights an’ Aldershot it;
But when it comes to slaughter
You will do your work on water,
An’ you’ll lick the bloomin’ boots of ’im that’s got it.
Now in Injia’s sunny clime,
Where I used to spend my time
A-servin’ of ’Er Majesty the Queen,
Of all them blackfaced crew
The finest man I knew
Was our regimental bhisti, Gunga Din,
He was ‘Din! Din! Din!
‘You limpin’ lump o’ brick-dust, Gunga Din!
‘Hi! Slippy hitherao
‘Water, get it! Panee lao,
‘You squidgy-nosed old idol, Gunga Din.’
The uniform ’e wore
Was nothin’ much before,
An’ rather less than ’arf o’ that be’ind,
For a piece o’ twisty rag
An’ a goatskin water-bag
Was all the field-equipment ’e could find.
When the sweatin’ troop-train lay
In a sidin’ through the day,
Where the ’eat would make your bloomin’ eyebrows crawl,
We shouted ‘Harry By!’
Till our throats were bricky-dry,
Then we wopped ’im ’cause ’e couldn’t serve us all.
It was ‘Din! Din! Din!
‘You ’eathen, where the mischief ’ave you been?
‘You put some juldee in it
‘Or I’ll marrow you this minute
‘If you don’t fill up my helmet, Gunga Din!’
’E would dot an’ carry one
Till the longest day was done;
An’ ’e didn’t seem to know the use o’ fear.
If we charged or broke or cut,
You could bet your bloomin’ nut,
’E’d be waitin’ fifty paces right flank rear.
With ’is mussick on ’is back,
’E would skip with our attack,
An’ watch us till the bugles made 'Retire,’
An’ for all ’is dirty ’ide
’E was white, clear white, inside
When ’e went to tend the wounded under fire!
It was ‘Din! Din! Din!’
With the bullets kickin’ dust-spots on the green.
When the cartridges ran out,
You could hear the front-ranks shout,
‘Hi! ammunition-mules an' Gunga Din!’
I shan’t forgit the night
When I dropped be’ind the fight
With a bullet where my belt-plate should ’a’ been.
I was chokin’ mad with thirst,
An’ the man that spied me first
Was our good old grinnin’, gruntin’ Gunga Din.
’E lifted up my ’ead,
An’ he plugged me where I bled,
An’ ’e guv me ’arf-a-pint o’ water green.
It was crawlin’ and it stunk,
But of all the drinks I’ve drunk,
I’m gratefullest to one from Gunga Din.
It was 'Din! Din! Din!
‘’Ere’s a beggar with a bullet through ’is spleen;
‘’E's chawin’ up the ground,
‘An’ ’e’s kickin’ all around:
‘For Gawd’s sake git the water, Gunga Din!’
’E carried me away
To where a dooli lay,
An’ a bullet come an’ drilled the beggar clean.
’E put me safe inside,
An’ just before ’e died,
'I ’ope you liked your drink,’ sez Gunga Din.
So I’ll meet ’im later on
At the place where ’e is gone—
Where it’s always double drill and no canteen.
’E’ll be squattin’ on the coals
Givin’ drink to poor damned souls,
An’ I’ll get a swig in hell from Gunga Din!
Yes, Din! Din! Din!
You Lazarushian-leather Gunga Din!
Though I’ve belted you and flayed you,
By the livin’ Gawd that made you,
You’re a better man than I am, Gunga Din!
I can see the attraction. Beside the fact that these are neat items that would display well in a cabinet.
You can show them off, as opposed to coins.
I can just imagine a little boy making engine noises and pushing these around in a sandbox......
As long as we don't catch you collecting Franklin Mint Porcelain Thimbals. We'll let you live in Peace.
Those old Toys are actually cool looking. Make more sense than Mint Carded Hot Wheels...... which I have a bunch of.
Toys are something everybody can appreciate. Coins, 90% of the population looks at you like you're somewhat strange.
U.S. Type Set
I have some old WW1 Manoil soldiers that look nice in the curio cabinet. They were my grandmother’s.
Stick to coins.
That is a deep dark rabbit hole.......with no way out. But it is your money.
Funny... even as a kid I never got into little metal cars and trucks.
I buy pottery and silverware sometimes, way less liquid, but fun.
My YouTube Channel
Fuddy-Duddy !!!
@topstuf Those cast toy vehicles are Antiques road show level items. There's a guy at my local flea market who sells a wide assortment of original replacement rubber tires for them. Let me know if you want me to get his contact info. Peace Roy
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Thank you. I was a toy DEALER back when there was a market.
Advertised 4 page inserts in international magazine.
TOY shows made coin shows look sad. AND....everyone was having FUN
You can get a LOT of parts from Thomas Toys.
https://thomastoysantiquetoyparts.com/
Click the link and see the kid that runs the place.
@topstuf I think they are all very attractive toys.
I had an Uncle (born 1925) who was second generation on the same family farm, and he had lots of toys of this vintage, which we nephews and nieces were allowed to play with in the 1960s. Eventually they dug a great big hole alongside the farmhouse and pushed the house into the hole with a bulldozer. I am pretty certain that the toys went with the house. I wasn't aware that the house was being torn down, and my Uncle was not very sentimental! A bit sad.
My uncle had a legacy ranch in CA. Started in 1860.
They dumped EVERYTHING into a ditch behind the house. EVERYTHING!
Most of the tin cans rotted to black dust. I'm sure there were some interesting things in that ditch.
Doubtful ....coins..... though.
Exercise caution with vintage toys/mechanical cast iron banks in regard to their age. It's been known that scammers take reproductions, bury them in the back yard for about a year to falsely "age" the item. Idea is to make them appear more vintage like in appearance.
I may start a CAC for toys.
Those are nice old toy vehicles.... I had a friend out West who collected them... Lost track of him over the years.
@Outhaul ....Thanks for the poem....one of my all time favorites, since I was a kid. You could feel the stress and almost smell the gunpowder... at least to me at that young age. Cheers, RickO
Interesting post, Thanks for sharing. My dad was a toy collector back in the 80's and 90's. From the pics I am confident that yours are not reproductions that have been artificially aged or antiqued. All are- imho very market acceptable.
I've always collected guns and coins. Both are lifelong hobbies... My interest in coins has had it's peaks and valleys over the years but my interest in guns has always been steady. What I found in collecting both, at first it's quantity but later it's quality...
I think the reason my interest in gun collecting has been so steady is they have a useful function. From protection, to hunting, to target shooting. (I don't hunt much anymore, but I do a lot of target shooting and always conceal carry.) Plus, I don't think I've ever lost money on a gun... I certainly can't say that about coins.
I’m into rare cameras now. This is the Contura Stereo Camera from 1955. Only 130 were made, this is #12. Yes, it works!
Don’t fight it just enjoy the ride. 🤓
I’ve always liked cast iron toys. Inherited some cool old trains from my Uncle. They display great and my 4 year old can still play with them too.
Old cardboard is something I also like.
Nice!