AN IMPRESSIVE Matchbox toy fan boasts one of Britain’s largest collections of the toy car and is selling them for an eye-watering sum.
Terry Kneeshaw, from Darlington, County Durham, is selling 450 Regular Wheels cars that he’s collected over a period of almost 50 years.
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He started to build up his collection in the 1970s and is flogging his toys for a staggering £21,000.
The collection focuses on the artwork for each box types – A to F – by model series one to 75 and even includes colour variations and rare issues.
Terry is selling his collection through Vectis auction house as he is retiring and moving on to new projects.
Artist Terry said he was attracted to the artwork on the boxes.
He said: “I loved the paintings that came together on the boxes and I have some very, very rare ones.
“I started collecting variants and it became an obsession.
“For a lot of people the cars are the most important part of the collection but for me as an artist what was more important was the pictures.
“So when I collected, I collected all the box types.
“It may be that you see you have three of the same car but I would collect every A box, every B box, every C box and so on.
“I collected them as sets, as a series of boxes, rather than as cars.
I collected nearly every Matchbox car created since I was a kid
By Roisin Chapman
ONE guest on US show Pawn Stars brought in his collection, which the experts estimated to be worth $28,000.
He explained that he has been collecting the vintage toys since childhood, acquiring some of the rarest versions available.
“I think I have almost every single car that Matchbox put out between 1953 and 1969,” he said.
The toys were first introduced by Lesney Products in 1953 and dominated the market until Hot Wheels were released in 1968.
Rick Harrison joked that it looked like the guest had “robbed a toy store” due to his extensive collection.
The man revealed that he had acquired “roughly a thousand pieces in 600 boxes.”
He explained that since all his items are from before the 1970’s, they are considered the most valuable collectables.
This is because Matchbox completely transformed their line to compete with Hot Wheels.
Vintage toy expert Johnny Jimenez Jr appraised the entire collection and determined it to be worth $25,000 to $28,000.
“It was an unusual way to collect.
“But that’s me – I enjoyed it.”
He added: “I’m a pensioner now but I’ve got a new mantra in life – don’t retire, retire.
“I’m asking for another thirty years to do a completely new project.”
Vectis Auctions is selling the collection on October 30.
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