Dinky cars collection sells for staggering £350,000 at Stockton auction

A Dinky Marsh's Sausages van fetched £2,880 at an auction held by Vectis in Stockton. Credit: Vectis

A collection of model Dinky cars accumulated over 35 years have been sold for a staggering £350,000.

Featuring about 1,600 figures, Dutch collector Rob van der Hoort, started buying the toys in 1985.

The Teesside auction attracted bids from across Europe and America.

It was made up predominantly of Dinky models from 1933 to the early 1970s and included gift sets, trade packs and accessories as well as many rare and unusual variations.

The collection was sold over three days by Vectis auction house, in Thornaby, on Teesside.

A Foden Diesal eight-wheel wagon sold for £4,080. Credit: Vectis

Items up for auction include a pre-war delivery truck that sold for £2,880 and a rare Canadian issue Simpsons Sports and Race Car Set which went for a huge £3,840.

A spokesperson said: "The anticipation of the well-known collector’s sale was enough to see prices rocket.

"Before the sale started there were a number of high bids already received, however these were pushed even further on the day of the sales by eager bidders, many from across Europe and America.

"Resulting in a fantastic final price achieved, and a nice surprise for the vendor, who had travelled to the auction room to see his collection laid out for the first time."

Mr van der Hoort, said: “The auction was a great experience for me. First of all, it is very nice to see all the interest in my collection and to follow the live bidding."

He added: "I was really surprised about the result of many of my models. It was much better than I had expected.

"As I said before, collecting has given me a lot of fun in the past years. I feel privileged that my collection was so well received by bidders all over the world."

Many of the toys sold for quadruple figures, with many reaching more than their estimate.

A pre-war Marsh's Sausages delivery van, which was estimated at between £800 and £1,000, sold for £2,880.

The collection of Dinky cars was sold for £350,000. Credit: Vectis

And a US export version of a Foden 1st Cab Diesel eight-wheeled wagon, which was estimated between £800 and £1,200, eventually sold for £4,080.

A rare issue Singer Vogue also sold for £3,240, more than double the estimate of £1,200-£1,400.

Meanwhile a Dinky 182 Porsche 356a Couple in near mint condition sold for £1,320.

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