That Was Some Toy Collection

From the Dec. 17, 2010, Bloomberg.com

It was a case of the rich getting richer.  The toy collection of the late Malcolm Forbes was but up at auction at Sotheby's.  A 37-inch long replica of the Lusitania (sunk by a U-boat in 1915) went for $194,500.  That sets a record for a toy boat at auction.  Macolm Forbes had bought it in 1983 for $28,600.

Also included in the collection was the earliest-known Monopoly game, hand-made by its inventor Charles Darrow.  It sold for $146,500.

There were 237 lots and not all sold.  Altogether, $2.3 million was taken in.

Evidently, there were quite a few toy ships.  A 19th century toy gunboat made in Germany in the 1880s went for $131,500.  However, the longest Forbes boat, the 47-inch French battleship Andre did not sell.  The German-made 1905 vessel known as the Plank "Kind Edward VII" clockwork battleship sold for $68,500.  Forbes had bought it 30 years earlier for $2,250.

So, you'd better think twive before pitching out those toys.

And Mom Was Throwing Ours Out.  Might Have Been Able to Retire on Some of Them.  --DaCoot