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Stumpage Reports
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Wednesday, July 09, 2003 :::
I'm a Materialistic Bastard Part 32: or, Antique Finds in the Adirondacks Part 1
This will probably be a long post, I'll do a part 2 either this afternoon or tomorrow.
I love crawling around antique stores and antique malls. People who know me know I like to collect plastic toy soldiers and playsets from the 1950s and 1960s. Particularly soldiers and playsets from the Marx Toy Company. For examples of what I'm talking about, take a look here and here.
I like collecting these things because they were some of my favorite toys as a kid and even now, certain sets can be quite a bargain considering how much stuff you can get. They are really well-made and show a dedication to quality and value. In dealer's catalogs, individual figures can be had from $1 each up to $1000 for certain select figures. The ones I get usually run in the $2 to $8 range. Complete and semi-complete boxed sets run from about $85 to up to $10,000. I've spent anywhere from $50 to a maximum I think of $395 for one set.
These things were ubiquitous enough, and with most of the parts being made of plastic, some people think they aren't worth much and it is still possible to find bargains at flea markets and even antique stores. With that long-winded introduction and explanation, here's my story:
We were hitting the antique stores in Tupper Lake, NY, and were on our second or third shop of the afternoon. I was already getting this kind of glazed eyeball thing going where your eyes hurt from so much input after looking at shelf after shelf of knick-knacks and books.
I was scanning a shelf of books and turned to say something to Eighteenth Century Lady who had taken a seat. On the shelf behind her, I saw a box lid filled with the familiar colors of Marx plastic. I let out an understated "woo hoo" and moved to take a look. Knowing me, Eighteenth Century Lady said "I'm going to find an ATM machine, take your time." (She needed cash for herself, she's not funding my habits, although I try).
The first figure I grabbed was a Marx Civil War soldier with a broken gun...worthless...I then saw several more intact Marx Civil War guys and got a lot more interested. I checked out the price: 50 cents each or the whole box for $55. I pulled up a chair and dug in. I then remembered the 1st Commandment when finding a box of plastic toy soldiers: look for the cream colored character figures. Marx did a lot of sets based on TV shows and history and often the character figures were the only things that made a certain set unique so they often are worth a lot more.
I spied that familiar cream color and pulled the figure out. It was a cowboy holding a gun and the bottom of his base said "Jim Hardie." I knew it was from a Marx western set, but didn't know which one. I knew he had nothing to do with Rin Tin Tin, The Rifleman, or Roy Rogers, since I have those sets. I figured he was from the Wagon Train set and that meant big bucks. Unfortunately, some kid had tortured the figure by sticking a couple holes in it with a hot pin, but what the hell. Quickly rooting through the box and seeing lots more intact Civil War figures, I hauled the whole thing to the counter.
I asked the lady if she could do any better than $50 for the box and she knocked it down to $45. Of course, I asked if she had any more figures like this. Alas, the answer was no.
When I got home the next week, I did a little research and found out the Jim Hardie figure was from a playset based on the TV show Tales of Wells Fargo and four or five years ago, mint figures were selling for $150. There is one for sale on Ebay right now and I'm keeping an eye on it. I figure I could probably get at least $20 for mine and there is easily $100 to $300 worth of Civil War guys in there plus lots of Marx Knights, Cowboys, Horses, and Alamo Mexicans. Usually when you find a stash like this, it is about 80% trash and 20% good stuff. This haul has the opposite proportions and fills up half a paper grocery bag.
I know I'm sitting here rattling about how much these things are worth. I buy because I love them and actually, once in a great while, play with them. But if I can get a good deal and sell something to finance my habit, I'm all over it. I'll probably try and sell the Jim Hardie to make back a little of what I spent. Maybe I'll try and unload some of the Civil War guys too. I already have a Civil War set, and the main question is: am I happy with the 100 Civil War guys I have, or do I need another 100?
Well, if you wanna do Pickett's Charge right....
One of the funnest parts of something like this is digging through the figures and sorting them out. I haven't allowed myself that luxury yet, I have to get my new duplex in a little better order before do that.
This is the longest post I've ever done, if you read it all you must really be my friend.
Part 2 will tell about some cool book finds and probably not require as much explanation.
::: posted by tom at 12:03 PM
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