Milestone’s Jan. 29 Winter Antique Toy Spectacular unleashes high-condition antique and vintage vehicles, banks, early European toys, and comic character favorites
Nearly 130 coveted toy motorcycles are lined up for the sale, including rare prototypesWILLOUGHBY, Ohio – Antique and vintage toys played a major role in Milestone Auctions’ success in 2021. Their October 2nd toy event rocketed to $768,000, a house record for the suburban Cleveland, Ohio, company. Milestone is on track to keep that positive momentum going in 2022 with an 867-lot Winter Antique Toy Spectacular on January 29.Marx prototype Red Cross windup motorcycle, 10½ in long, with hand-painted details. Marked on bottom to indicate its origin as being Marx’s Erie, Pa., factory. Estimate $6,000-$8,000The motor pool will be ready to spring into action when the sale commences at 10 a.m., with top-notch examples of American, European and Japanese cars, racers, trucks, vans, buses, fire toys and work vehicles awaiting their new owners. The demand for toy motorcycles has been insatiable, and strong prices continue to be paid for rare, early examples in superior condition. The January event includes nearly 130 tempting bikes, including many that have their original factory boxes. Leading the pack is a Marx windup Indian motorcycle with sidecar. All original and in like-new condition with bright, appealing colors, it retains its crisp original box with the image of an early Indian bike whizzing along with a passenger in tow. It is said that the toy being auctioned by Milestone was discovered in a collection of parts and accessories at an old Indian motorcycle dealership [the Indian company ceased operations in 2003]. The toy is estimated at $4,000-$6,000. Coincidentally, in the same auction Milestone is offering not only Marx’s prototype of the Indian sidecar bike – Lot 349, estimate $4,000-$6,000 – but also an example of the German-made Greppert & Kelch (G&K) toy that Marx copied to develop their own branded version. The G&K toy is listed as