What to buy at an Estate Sale? Vintage Tin Toys

I'll start with a story:

I was at an estate sale a few months back. It was the estate of a man that used to be in the business of decorating restaurants. He had ALL kinds of old stuff. Hundreds of Golf Clubs, bags, tennis rackets, helmet and much much more (Think. Ruby Tuesday or TGI Friday). One thing that caught my eye when I was there was the collection of football helmets. There where at least 50 of them. Some where old, some newer, some where actual helmets and some were decorative.

I walked over to the guy managing the sell and we started negotiating a price. Unfortunately, we weren't able to come to an agreement. I offered as high as $3 a helmet but they wouldn't come down below $5. So I decided to pass.

Last week while searching the estate sale listings I come across the very same house again. I was excited. I was fairly certain no one had paid what they were asking for these helmets, so I was on a mission to go get them!

I was one of the first ones there, but the helmets were no where in site. So, I browsed around the sale. Most everything I had seen and looked over a few months prior, but one thing did catch my eye. It was stowed away under a table in a box with a bunch of other stuff. It was an Old Tin WWII Airplane Toy. It was really cool and I knew after watching Pawn Stars that some tin toys where worth money. So, I decided to get it. I offered them $5 and they took it.

After researching it once I got home here is what I found:











 
click the picture for a clearer view)

So, it wasn't a home run buy, but it was a solid money maker. Looks like I should make around $30 on it. So what happened with the helmet? There is an interesting story behind that as well. Check back tomorow for the scoop on that.

Check on the auction for the WWII Toy Airplane below:

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