Cast Iron Toys
Cast Iron toys commonly called iron toys have been of great interest to both children and adults since they first came on the scene in 1825, in America. The earliest of iron toys was a simple little iron that rested upon a trivet. You can almost imagine a child pretending to slave over the hot iron like her mommy. Along with the toy iron a few gardening tools were also made.
The 1870's produced a new line, which gave the boys their first cap guns, and all children a way to save money as they dropped their coins in an old cast iron bank. There were a few simple pieces of doll furniture produced as well. Then came the 1880's when bigger and better toys were produced that had more detail and even some moving parts.
1915-1930 were years when a lot of the horse drawn toys were produced. They were extremely detailed and gave the children hours of fun playtime. The iron horse toys are a bit harder to identify the manufacture. It is know that at least six different companies were making them during this time period, and most did not put their mark on them. One company, 'Carpenter', did place their patent mark on the rod between the horses. If your toy has a patent marking with the date of November 16, 1880 or March 20, 1883, you most likely have a, Carpenter Cast Iron Toy in your possession.
Some of the most prized cast iron toys to collect, if you can find them, are the trains and the fire-fighting equipment.
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 CAST IRON TRAIN ENGINE 50 VERY GOOD CONDITION G GIFT  US $19.99
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 1895 Ideal Cast Iron Train Set LocoTender2 Passenger US $300.00
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They top the list for highly collectible cast iron toys, so expect to pay more for these toys. Next comes any iron toy that has moving parts.
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 KENTON Overland Circus Wagon Cast Iron Toy LK US $435.99
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 CAST IRON CIRCUS WAGON CAGE BEAR TOY OVERLAND 952 US $549.00
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Circus toys were once plentiful, and now extremely sought after by collectors.
Another category of iron toys in demand are the comic or character iron toys. These are the iron toys, which come from the comic-strips of the 20th century. With this knowledge, it shows that a cast iron toy may not considered antique, but it is considered highly collectible and of great value.
You will find many of the vintage or antique cast iron toys still available as homeowners clean out their closets or collectors give them up and place them before the public to buy. A savvy collector of Cast Iron Toys would be foolish not to scout out newer cast toys as they will also quickly become collectible. Antique stores are only one place to find these old toys. Look as just the few we show below that are actively for sale right now on eBay. There are hundreds more for you to see, and perhaps one or two that will fit into your own collection. You are welcome to view them all, and do enjoy the nostalgia of the old cast iron toys of yesteryear.
