In this case we are speaking of "collectible" with no reference to antique for a reason. There are many car collections having meaning to their collectors that have very little value as actual antiques. This can also include some of the quality replicas of collectible toy cars if you are after decoration items only and not that serious of a collector. The are also many collectors of plastic model cars which certainly have no historic value. Vintage, on the other hand, generally refers more to the the car being used as a basis for the toy than the toy itself.

If your fancy is more in the antiques (valued) area, we suggest you see some of the information we have on our antique toy cars page. It's found right next to the collectible toys cars in the navigation menu to the left.

Most importantly for any collecting is to get informed and do a bit of homework on vintage cars and toys at your local library, in toy  price guides, trade magazines or even browsing the internet. If you are lucky enough to live in a city that has local collector's clubs, then certainly join or attend their meetings. These guys are one of the best sources of information available and generally very eager to help another local person get started.

A Bit of History on Collectible 
Tinplate and Cast-Iron Toys

Originally tinplate was used mostly used for oil cans in the mid to late 1800s and Germany was the first to use the material in toys. Tinplate was  an easy material to make cars from because of its ability to be stamped,  soldered and painted. 

Following tinplate many toy cars were made from cast-iron. Cast-iron became the material of choice since it had characteristics that allowed for easier and cheaper mass-production. It also had a lasting durability unmatched by any materials before or since.

By the late 1960s tinplate and cast-iron cars had gradually disappeared as plastic and advanced metal alloy toys emerged. Since then few worthwhile collectible toy cars have been made by any manufacturers.

America's Contribution to Collectible Toy Cars

Never had a country been as prosperous as the U.S. and its prosperity showed early in the love people had for cars. With adults love for cars it was only natural for children to gravitate to toy cars -- what better way to pretend to be adults and head-of-households! 

Following World World War II the toy industry boomed in America and MANY American toy makers were producing hundreds of models of toy cars -- every boy could have a toy car just like his Dad. 

For a brief period (after Germany and before Japan became a major manufacturing country) America made and shipped more toys -- including cars -- than all countries combined. It seemed that the whole world was riding America's car craze.

Dating Toy Cars

Yes we are repeating this one more time... Why? Because for small toys this is one of the absolute best ways to establish an accurate date on the manufacture of the toy. If your collectible toy car just happens to still be in a box you can use ZIP Codes to determine the date it was made. 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 cars 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 also became prominent around 1963. Between 1943 and 1963, the largest U.S. cities used "postal zones."  If your collectible toy cars have a postal zone number following the state in the address, it dates between 1943 and 1963.