Treasures In Your Toy Box: Toys That Are Now Worth Fortune

Cabbage Patch Kid

To some degree, we all possess the makings of a parental figure, one who loves to take care of someone. Of course, the development of this feat has to start somewhere, and most of the time, its roots can be found in childhood. Such is most especially the case for those who enjoyed playing with dolls when they were kids.

Toy stores have sold numerous adorable stuffed dolls over the years. One of the earlier dolls to grace the market was the Cabbage Patch Kids. While newer models have been made in recent years, there’s no denying that the earlier ones still have some charm – not to mention fortune. Initially created as a hand-stitched sculpture before getting an upgrade and entering the market in 1984, these Cabbage Patch Kids were sold for $40. Nowadays, though, these older dolls have escalated in value: you could sell them for as much as $1,000.

Furby

More often than not, we think of toys as fun items we can play with. Besides just looking cool or adorable, many of these toys also possess a couple of features that make them all the more worth having. Other times, though, these same features also make them annoying – according to our parents, at least.

One such toy that takes credit for causing quite a buzz among parents and kids was the Furby series of toys. First introduced in 1998, these furry little fellows can do a couple of things, like blinking their eyes on their own and making weird sounds. Plus, they can also “communicate” with another Furby. More and more versions have been made through the years, and the earlier ones have since become rare collector’s items for Furby fans. In fact, if you just so happen to have one of its first editions lying around in your house and it’s still in mint condition, you could sell it for about $900.

Teddy Ruxpin

The Cabbage Patch Kid was undoubtedly a great doll to have. Many of us have had more than a few made-up scenarios with them, like having them along for pretend tea parties. People working in toy manufacturing companies noticed this play habit, and because of that, plenty of upgrades have been made through the years.

One such notable investment came to the market in the form of a cool teddy bear named Teddy Ruxpin. On the outside, Teddy is adorable and is certainly someone any kid would love to hug. Upon closer inspection, though, this teddy bear can do more than just that. Designed with a cassette recorder and life-like moving eyes, Teddy Ruxpin can tell you stories and sing you to sleep with lullabies. Initially sold for $69.99, they have since found their way to online market platforms like eBay with a selling price of at least $150. If kept in good condition, though, they could go for as much as $400.

Matchbox Car

As mentioned on the previous page, many of us have undoubtedly hosted make-believe scenarios with our toys throughout our childhood. Besides having tea parties with them, some of us have also made stories of them living in a house or even saving the world: the stakes often came in varying degrees with these toys. Now, of course, another thing we loved doing back then was pretending we were building something.

For that, it’s no surprise many of us have small-scale construction vehicles in our toy chest, like Matchbox cars. Having debuted in 1953, these beauties were sold for less than a dollar each, though their worth has soared since then. In fact, back in 2004, a Matchbox collector decided to buy himself a brown No. 30 crane. He didn’t spend a dollar for it, though: he bought the car for an astounding price of $13,000.

Lite-Brite

We’ve all developed a couple of hobbies over the years. Of course, many of these activities let us express our feelings and thoughts. From writing an essay or even a story to composing songs to playing an instrument, it would be a disservice not to credit painting as a hobby. We could feel this sense of catharsis whenever we splash one color after another on a canvas, creating an interesting image while we’re at it.

With that said, our love for art and our interest in making artwork ourselves had to start somewhere. For some of us, this fascination began when we played with a Lite-Brite. It’s a lightbox that has small, colored plastic pegs for us to place around the said lightbox. Once we’ve set the pieces in place, we could switch the Lite-Brite on, resulting in an interesting image of colorful lights. The original editions of these toys, which debuted in 1967 and were sold for $10, are now as valuable as $300.

Strawberry Shortcake Doll

Sometimes, when something becomes very popular in a particular medium, it’s practically a no-brainer move to spend a significant portion of investment money bringing it to another form of entertainment. Because of that, we now have numerous franchises. One such example is the Strawberry Shortcake series of products.

What started as greeting cards featuring the adorable titular character, Strawberry Shortcake, has since expanded to various mediums, including cartoon shows, posters, and dolls. With that said, it’s no surprise that the latter has become quite a sought-after item for kids, especially during its earlier years on the market. For one, their design undoubtedly has a childish appeal to it. With the first dolls debuting in 1979, their value has since skyrocketed to as much as a thousand dollars – pretty impressive for a doll that once could’ve been purchased for a few pennies.

Swimsuit Barbie

Now, speaking of world-famous franchises, another brand that has garnered a high degree of popularity is undoubtedly Barbie. Through the years, Barbie has produced numerous projects, such as cartoon shows and 3D animated movies. Of course, we can’t just talk about Barbie without mentioning the dolls.

Barbie has become a staple in the doll category of toys. Through the years, it has gone through numerous iterations, focusing on various themes. This, of course, includes the swimsuit variety. While hundreds upon thousands of designs have already been made, there’s no denying that the original batch has since become a series of rare gems for Barbie fans all over the world. For one, the first edition black-and-white striped swimsuit Barbie can now be sold for a whopping $20,000. That’s an impressive increase from the initial selling price of $3.

Lionel 3360 Burro Crane

With the previously-mentioned Matchbox series of cars’ fame, it’s no surprise more toy companies have opted to make investments in construction-related figures. For this page, though, we won’t be focusing on vehicles on wheels – this one runs on a rail system.

Among the many types of its kind, Lionel trains are one of the best-built models in the toy industry. With that said, the company’s knack for its craft is quite apparent with their 3360 Burro Crane. For one, it is the prototype that subsequent model cranes used for reference. No wonder these Burro Cranes have become akin to the finest diamonds for toy enthusiasts. If you still need more convincing regarding its reputation, here’s a fun fact: this rare model train made around the 1950s recently found its way to an eBay auction – the seller had it sold for the astounding price of $85,062.25.

My Little Pony’s Rapunzel

While online markets like Amazon give us a chance to get the things we want with just a push of a button, there’s no denying that we always feel some degree of excitement when we go to a mall. Well, the same can also be said when, back in our childhood, we were told we were going to the toy store.

My Little Pony is a brand that’s still going strong today, thanks to its toys and just-as-popular cartoon series and movies. Now, if you aim to collect all My Little Pony figures ever sold, you might need to look a little deeper than just the usual toy store. Around the 1980s, one particular pony could only be purchased via mail order. One needed to make a phone call to get the Rapunzel pony. Well, if you want to get one today, you’ll have to prepare at least $900.

Hot Wheels Van

At this point, just about everyone has probably heard of the Hot Wheels brand and the millions of small-scale cars they have made through the years. Of course, whenever we think of Hot Wheels cars, we also think of the awesome race tracks we could make for our little four-wheeled beasts to race in.

With that said, there is one model car that has become quite a diamond for Hot Wheels collectors – the pink-colored Volkswagen Beach Bomb. After making a couple of models, the manufacturers realized the van couldn’t be placed on their race tracks. This resulted in them discontinuing its production and shifting their investments to other projects. Since then, out of the indefinite number of models made, only two Beach Bombs have been discovered. One of them was auctioned off for the impressive price of $72,000. Suffice to say, both seller and buyer left that transaction happy.