Sturditoy Pressed-Steel Trucks, ca. 1925
GUEST:
I inherited them from my mother and her sister. They received them as Christmas presents when they were little girls. My mother found out in the last ten years that they might possibly be worth something. But you can see that they were well used, well loved. She used to ride these on the sidewalk. We used to ride them. My kids have ridden them.
APPRAISER:
So they've been well played with for a few generations.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
That's great. Well, these are what we call pressed steel trucks.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
We've had a lot of pressed steel trucks over the years, a lot of Buddy L. I know you've heard that name. Buddy L were the primary makers. Then there were other makers-- Keystone and Sturditoy, and it goes down. Buddy L was the Cadillac, Keystone was the Buick, and these are the Chevys and Fords.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And they were made in Rhode Island starting in the 1920s, which was pretty much their heyday. These are fairly nice condition. Of course, we know they're Sturditoys, because they have the original decals right here...
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
...on the front. This one also has the original license plate.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Not often there. Thing is that Sturditoy was not as popular, not as successful as Buddy L, so their trucks are a little rarer. And these are a little unusual. This is a coal truck, and it has these compartments for the coal so that you could have different size loads. And it dumps.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And then you have an ambulance, which is also kind of nice. As far as value, as I say, a little more unusual, but the condition is a little rough. You had played with them fairly hard. But it is complete, it has all the component parts. It could clean up a little bit. And this one would be worth $800 to $900 in this condition.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
So that's a nice truck. The ambulance is also really nice. The thing about this is kids would like a dump truck a lot more than an ambulance. So the ambulance tends to be a fair amount rarer than the coal truck.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And this one is really in pretty good condition. It has the original decals still there. Has some paint loss here and there. But it does have the original headlights, which are often missing. It's overall quite good condition for this car. One of these recently sold for $4,000.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And I think at auction this would easily bring, on today's market, $4,000 to $4,500.
GUEST:
Okay. We're not planning on selling. We actually have them in the Carroll County Museum on display right now.
APPRAISER:
Uh-huh.
GUEST:
They'll stay there and stay with the family.
APPRAISER:
Well, that's good. Well, now you know which one is better.
GUEST:
We like them both.
APPRAISER:
Okay, thank you.
GUEST:
Thank you.
Appraisal Details
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