My First Toy

The Marklin Toy That Started Me Collecting

By Ron Sturgeon, owner of DFW Elite Toy Museum

I was in London and saw a Toy Auction Today sign. When I reached the end of the street, I didn’t know I had arrived at Sotheby’s.  At that point, I may not have known what Sotheby’s was.

However, the auction and the rare toys intrigued me. I bid on a few toys and was outbid for one I really wanted by Londoner and world-renowned toy collector, David Pressland. (though I didn’t know who he was at that time.)

I bought the Marklin truck and trailer displayed here for $250, which was a lot of money for me in 1985. The set turned out to be a great souvenir for my London trip and is worth About $1,000 today.

Before I started collecting antique toy cars, I used to collect antique cars and at one time had 60. Every time I wanted to drive one, I had to spend at least $500 to make it road worthy. Most collectible cars don’t appreciate nearly as quickly as their toy counterparts.

I also like collecting antique toy race cars because they don’t eat anything. My collection of rare toy cars continues to grow and I have even opened up DFW Elite Toy Museum for other fans out there to come and enjoy.

Over the years I have continued to look for specific collectibles such as Conti models and hard to find Tippco toys to add to my museums collection.

So, I guess you could say that a Sotheby’s auction sign got me started toy collecting and the rest is history.

Images are high resolution and may take several seconds to load