Old toys can lead people to a treasure chest of childhood memories.
But the right old toys can reap more tangible riches.
For the first time, the Toy Roadshow is coming to Canada and is stopping in Winnipeg, Regina and Saskatoon.
George McCurley, who manages the International Toy Collectors Association and co-ordinates the shows, said the association offers a free, professional evaluation of antiques, collectables or plain toys people think might be rare.
“People can bring them in and find out just what they have. If they want to sell their toys we have our representatives there to make offers on behalf of our members and clients.”
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McCurley said the 5,000 member organization hopes to see a strong showing of collectable toys during the group’s first visit to Canada.
He and his members believe Western Canada has a large inventory of European toys dating back to the 1800s because of the turn-of-the-century settlement.
“It’s not that there won’t be lots of more recent collectables, the Barbies, the GI Joe and Star Wars toys, around. And we have an interest in those too,” said McCurley, who hopes to spend up to $250,000 US in three Canadian stops.
In a recent Toy Roadshow stop in Fargo, North Dakota, a single Mickey Mouse toy was sold to the show buyers for $12,000 US with the entire three-day event buying $200,000 in local toys.
The association has a database of wanted toys with more than 200,000 bids from its members.
Frank Ross of the association said the toys should not be cleaned and if the original box or packaging is available, interested toy owners should bring it to the evaluation.
“I can’t tell you how much damage a little (cleaner) will do to a toy. Dirty is OK,” he said.
The Toy Roadshow will be in Winnipeg at the McPhillips Street Days Inn from Oct. 22-25, in Saskatoon at the Best Western Inn and Suites Oct. 27-29 and in Regina at the Seven Oaks Inn from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2.
