Done Your
Homework on Collectible Toy Fire Trucks?
Good News: Your interest in collectible toy fire trucks is unlike many
other forms of antique collecting -- it is reasonably
inexpensive!
Bad News: Like all other antique products your purchases of
collectible toy fire trucks are not protected by
any regulatory agencies, forcing the novice collector of
collectible toy fire trucks to succumb to the phrase "Buyer
Beware."
One of the more important things you should
do is "learn to date" collectible toy fire trucks you plan to
purchase.
Dating Collectible Toy Fire Trucks:
As we have stated before, we repeat this information often on our toy pages because of it's extreme value in dating small toys: If you have the boxes your collectible toy fire trucks came in, you can use bar code and ZIP Codes. Here is how:
5 digit ZIP codes were first implemented by the US Post Office in 1963. In 1983 the Post Office
implemented ZIP + 4. So if your collectible toy fire trucks have a ZIP code of 5 digits, it dates between 1963 and
1983. If it has a 5 digit code followed by a 4 digit code, it dates from 1983 or later.
New abbreviations for states became
prominent around 1963. Between 1943 and 1963, the largest U.S. cities used "postal zones." These
postal zones can date major centers, such as Houston, as being in that twenty year period (1943
to 1963). If your collectible toy fire trucks have a postal zone number following the state in the address,
it dates between 1943 and 1963.
If your collectible toy fire trucks have boxes, the bar code method
of pricing began use in mass commercial applications around 1975. So if your collectible toy fire trucks boxes
have bar codes on them, figure a date after 1974 and most likely after 1981.
If your collectible toy fire trucks were
made in Japan or China here is some more information: Collectible Toy Fire Trucks marked "Made in Occupied Japan"
date from the U.S. Army's years of occupation after World War II, being 1945 - 1952. More rare are
collectible toy fire trucks marked "made in Nippon". These was made in Japan between 1891 and 1921. If marked
"made in Japan" it's after 1921.
Toys marked "Made in China" or "Made in the Peoples
Republic of China" most commonly date after the U.S. and China Trade Agreement of 1979.
Also learn as much
as you can about the materials common to collectible toy fire trucks. For
example, if you are considering metal toys, know the history
of "tin plate". We have a lot more about tinplate on some of our other toy pages.
A Small Bit of History on Antique Tinplate Toys from Japan and Germany.
Tin plate, mostly used for oil cans around 1874-1875,
was originally used in the making of toys by Germany - Japan's entry came shortly after. Eventually
Japan became the tin plate toy-producing center of the world, leaving behind Germany which was totally
devastated by the First World War.
In 1948, friction toys, shaped of trains, fire engine
trucks and automobiles emerged. And around 1955, electronic toys took over them. Eight years later,
60% of the exported toys in Japan were made out of tin plate.
By 1970 tin plate toys had gradually disappeared
as plastic and advanced metal alloy toys emerged.
The United States also has a long history of tin toy
manufactures dating back to 1850, when there were already 50 toy makers in the U.S.
The bulk of this group operated in the Northeastern part of the country. The Northeast has such a rich tradition of toy makers, because of the immigration of so many toy makers coming through New York on their way to America.
During the World War I embargo of German toys, American
companies began producing a large variety of tin plate wind-up toys. An interesting fact is wind-up tin toys have a history
of being inexpensive during certain periods of time. This was a fact for American ones made
during the Great Depression of the 1930’s. A desperate time for many American people. Tin toys during those difficult times were a very inexpensive toy, which in return made them a popular gift of that period. This also may account for the still ready supply of these toy in the marketplace. In the U.S. the tinplate manufacturer of toys thrived well into the late 1950's.
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