Think twice before you throw out that old tinplate toy. A toy robot from the late 1950s is expected to fetch between £18,000 (€27,480) and £25,000 sterling at auction later this month.
The Machine Man tinplate robot, made by Japanese company Masudaya, will be one of the centrepieces of Christie's TV Generation auction on July 22nd.
Mr Daniel Agnew, toy specialist at Christie's, says it is from a group "famously known as the gang of five robots". They are "the rarest robots you can come across. And this is the rarest of the five of them."
The last one sold at auction made "something like $71,000 (€67,000)" but "that one was in slightly better condition and had its box". This one is unboxed, has "very minor scuffing" and the clip to the battery box door is missing.
The auction includes TV and film-related toys from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. "The most likely TV and film-related toys that people will have are the Corgi and Dinky toys, things like the Corgi James Bond cars and Batmobile or the Dinky Thunderbirds toys and Joe 9," he says.
"Although they were produced in very large numbers at the time, they're still very popular today so a lot of people collect them (who perhaps aren't normally toy collectors), so you might get someone who just fancies having their James Bond car back after they destroyed their one. You often get a lot of people who collect for that reason," he says.
A James Bond Aston Martin can be worth up to £100 if it was really as new, with its secret instructions unopened. But generally they are around £60 to £80. "The box is practically more important than the toy itself. Little tears or rubbings to the boxes makes a difference to the price," he says.
The Corgi Batmobile in mint condition would be worth £60 to £70. A James Bond Toyota from You Only Live Twice can make up to £150, "maybe a bit more if it's absolutely brand new," says Mr Agnew.
Scalextric produced a James Bond set in the late 1960s comprising a white Aston Martin DB4 with an ejecting man and a detachable roof section. Other parts included a black Mercedes-Benz with driver and armed passenger and cones, three straw bales, straights, curves and chicanes.
Christie's has one such set in the forthcoming sale estimated to fetch £600 to £800. "We've had them in the past and they normally do very well indeed," says Mr Agnew.
A Dalek from the Dr Who series is estimated at £100 to £150. Some Noddy toys can be worth up to £80 or £100 but most Noddy memorabilia is less, says Mr Agnew.
However, one Corgi Noddy car with Noddy and Big Ears in the front and a golly with a black face (not grey) in the back can be worth £400 to £500. Two Pink Panther cars in one lot, one made by Dinky, the other by Meccano, are estimated at £200 to £250.
A Corgi Magic Roundabout playground from the early 1970s is estimated at £500 to £800. A Japanese celluloid Popeye from the 1930s may fetch between £300 and £400, while Steed's Jaguar (a 1978 Dinky car from The Avengers) is estimated at £800 to £1,000.
Also included in the auction is the much-hyped 40th anniversary Barbie doll (estimate: £20,000 to £40,000) which Ms Lisa Porreca of Christie's doll department says is adorned with "gorgeous, brilliant diamonds, including a rare fancy yellow diamond".
