Childhood toys that could earn you a fortune

You may dream of winning the Lotto one day. But what if I told you that you could be sitting on a small fortune right now?

According to British gift and accessory company Cath Kidston there are a few childhood toys that have become quite sought after. If you’ve kept them in good condition, you could sell them off for thousands of Rands. These include common kids’ toys like Barbies, Beanie Babies, and unique Lego sets.

Here we unpack what collectors are looking for and what you could potentially earn from the toys languishing in the attic or toy cupboards.

1. Beanie Babies

These cute toys were first introduced in 1993 by Ty Warner at the World Toy Fair in New York and when they went into production, they were sold for around $5 (R80). Find out if your mom collected Beanie Babies and if she still has them around as they’re now they’re worth far more.

Cath Kidston says the original Peanut the Elephant is one of the most valuable Beanie Babies around because of its very limited production run. Only 2,000 of the royal blue Peanut were ever produced and there’s varying theories as to why that happened. Some think it was down to a production error while others believe that the founder, Warner, wasn’t happy with the initial sales and then stopped the company from making more.

Either way, these toys could now be worth around £4,000 (R77,369).

2. Unique Lego sets

Everyone has had a Lego set at one point or another. It’s hard to really get through any childhood without coming across these plastic ‘bricks’ that allow kids to build whatever comes to mind.

But now it’s not just kids that are buying Lego. It now turns out that adults are collecting them too and are willing to spend a pretty penny in the process. Lego group has now even targeted adults and has launched specific categories aimed at them.

For example, in April 2020 Lego introduced the first 18+sets in the form of the Star Wars Helmets collection. This was followed by 10273 Haunted House set and now there are over 28 sets of these highest age recommendation sets released worldwide.

The Star Wars Lego sets are very sought after. According to research by Cath Kidston a used Ultimate collector’s Millennium Falcon bundle is worth around 1,184.99 (R22,901) – which is around treble its original value. Meanwhile, the Imperial Star Destroyer form the same collection is estimated to be worth a lot more – around R1,830 (R35,396).

3. Best value Barbies

She may be made of plastic, but Barbie could well be worth a small fortune now – particularly if you have an original doll stashed away somewhere. Barbie was first introduced at the American International Toy Fair in New York in March 1959.

The three most valuable Barbies all have real jewels sewn into their outfits and are either limited or one of a kind. But you don’t need to have a be-jewelled Barbie to make some cash.

If you have any of these, you could get the following amounts for them:

1. Barbie Millennium Princess – she was designed to welcome in the year 2000 and could be worth around £1,988 (R38,452).
2. Calvin Klein Barbie – was around in the ‘90s so you could well have one in your attic. She’s worth an approximate £1,124 (R21,740).
3. Vintage Barbie – find out if your mom has any vintage Barbies. Vintage Parisienne Barbie from the first catalogue of Barbies in 1959 could be worth a whopping £2,305 (R44,583).

What should you do if you find a valuable toy?

If you have found a valuable toy you may want to hang on to it as an investment. But make sure it’s worth something first by getting it valued. See if you can sell them through vintage and antique shops.

Join some toy collector groups on social media websites like Facebook and find out if there are any willing to give you steer on who to approach to get a valuation.

Be careful when you interact with people online (or in person) though – there are lots of fraudsters out there who may first come off as being friendly and willing to help, only to con you out of your valuables once they’ve gained your trust.