Boomerang: Collecting: Toy Soldiers

Are you a pack rat? Check your attic ...

Attention! This is a call to all fellow boomer pack rats. Today I would like you all to delve into your closets, basements, crawl spaces or anywhere you have stored your childhood toys and we’ll evaluate them. Write to me at bettyboom@boominback.com with your boomer era items.

Marx soldier

In my crawlspace I discovered that I had two different soldier type toys. First let’s identify them. The first one is a Marx six inch plastic soldier. These soldiers were not boxed, and came in all sorts of colors according to their series . It also matters if they were made of flexible plastic and unpainted, or hard platic and painted, the latter being worth more. The lumar trademark appeared on the bottom of these soldiers and on other marx toys, but not on the 54mm and 65mm soldiers--the soldiers in the play sets. They were originally boxed, and are most valuable when mint and boxed.

I also have a GI Joe, which is the same height as a Barbie doll--eleven and a half inches. The early GI Joes had painted hair and a scar. As time went on, flock hair was used along with mustaches and beards. Different GI Joes in uniforms representing different countrys’ soldiers soon became popular. In 1967 Vietnam outfits were added which attracted the attention of the anti-war movement and pressured Hasbro to change GI Joes to adventurers (who fought the elements, not humans). Unfortunately for Hasbro there wasn’t a market for adventurers and the toy maker halted production in 1975.

Condition is key

Our next step as potential collectors is to determine the condition of the toy. The toy is mint if it is still in the original box and hardly used. Very good means some signs of use or minor scratches. Good means the toy has been used quite a bit but still has most of its features intact. In the case of my six inch Marx soldiers I have the condition is good and the value according to The confident Collector by Bertel Bruun would be approximately $10 a piece.

If you have any of the play sets that Marx started producing after WWII they can run into the hundreds of dollars. For example the Alamo is worth approximately $350, Battleground WWII is $200, Battle of the blue and gray set is $550, Daniel Boone frontier is $500 and the Babes and Toyland box set is approximately $100. Keep in mind these appraisals are based on toys that are in good condition. Also Marx was the biggest toy manufacturer in the world in the 1950s only to go bankrupt in 1980.

My finds

The Hasbro GI Joe doll that I own is the action soldier in good condition. Its value is assessed at $100. The German storm trooper is $200, British commando $200, GI Joe action pilot, $200. You can also sell the equipment separately. For example medic set is worth $50, West Point cadet set, $125, shore patrol set, $50, survival set $60, frogmen set $50. Keep in mind these values are all taken from Bruun’s book. There are other sources such as auction houses or periodicals (see below) that will also helpful in determining the value of a particular piece.

The hobby of collecting toy soldiers is fairly new the first auction occurred in England in 1968 since then there have been several auctions and a growing number of collectors. As time goes on the demand for our soldiers will increase driving up the value of our collections. So keep them in good shape and what ever you do not throw them out. Stop by next month for more on toy soldier collecting.

—Frank

(back to top)