Most weeks we are out and about holding a valuation day in a Church Hall or Community Centre from Wakefield, Huddersfield, Doncaster and Chesterfield to name just a few of the venues we cover.

We never know what’s going to come in which makes it really exciting and it’s always a busy and varied day.

Recently at an event in Derbyshire a gentleman brought along a box of his childhood toys. They were all Dinky and Corgi model cars and trucks which were in beautiful condition in their original boxes and hardly played with. He had really looked after them well and there were some lovely rare models amongst them which are going to be sold in one of our forthcoming specialist toy sales. I am sure they will sell well and create excitement amongst collectors.

So here’s some information regarding the history of Dinky Toys. Dinky Toys were first produced in 1933 by Frank Hornby the famous maker of model trains. They were die cast zinc and originally know as Hornby Modelled Miniatures and were intended to be accessories for the model railway platforms and included figures, animals, signals, rolling stock and cars. The following year in 1934 they were sold as Meccano Dinky Toys and another year later just as Dinky Toys.

They were made in two locations Liverpool and Bobigny in France. The early models included farm tractors, sports cars, tanks, delivery vans and even ambulances and were made to a scale of 1:43. All of the early models unfortunately were not a true representation of the vehicles but showed some artistic interpretation. By 1935 over 200 different models were produced and were sold in trade packs of six. It wasn’t until 1952 that they were sold in the individual boxes.

Dinky Toys monopolised the market in the post war years until in 1953 Matchbox toys was launched and in 1956 the toy marker Mettoy introduced Corgi Toys who both created serious competition to Dinky and unfortunately sales declined and in 1964 they were taken over by Lines Bros.

Some of most collectable and valuable Corgi models at auction are the television and film themed vehicles. These include a Batmobile, James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5, the Beatles Yellow Submarine and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. They often have removal parts and figures so finding one in good condition with its original box is not easy but some can fetch a few hundred pounds in our monthly specialist toy auctions.

So have a look in our cupboards and lofts to see if you have any of your childhood toys laying unloved they could be worth more than you think.