Toys or Treasures?

The Luke Skywalker action figure started its life like most other toys. It sat in a toy store wrapped in plastic and cardboard. In 1978, a Star Wars fan bought it for $2.49. For almost 40 years, no one played with the Luke toy. In fact, no one even opened the package. Then in 2015, someone bought it—for $25,000.

That’s right! A 37-year-old plastic toy became more valuable than a big diamond ring. Welcome to the wacky world of toy collecting.

The Luke Skywalker toy was like most other toys. It sat in a store wrapped in plastic and cardboard. In 1978, a Star Wars fan bought it for $2.49. For almost 40 years, no one played with the Luke toy. No one even opened the package. Then in 2015, someone bought it. They paid $25,000.

That’s right! An old plastic toy became worth more than a diamond ring. Welcome to the wacky world of toy collecting.

Most people buy toys to play with them. They buy Nerf guns for backyard wars. They buy Barbies to dress them up. They buy LEGO^® sets for hours of building.

But toy collectors don’t buy toys for fun. They buy them and set them safely on a shelf, still wrapped tightly in their original boxes or packages. They hope the toys will be worth more money one day. Action figures, LEGO sets, and even stuffed animals are some of the toys that can become more costly as time goes by.

Most people buy toys to play with them. They buy Nerf guns for backyard wars. They buy Barbies to dress them up. They buy LEGO^® sets to build. 

But toy collectors don’t buy toys for fun. They buy them and then put them on a shelf. And the toys are kept in their original packages. Collectors hope they’ll be worth more money one day. Barbies, LEGO sets, and even stuffed animals are some of the toys that can become more costly over time.

Today many toys are made just to be collected. Big-headed Funko Pop dolls spend their lives sitting on shelves. Grinning Labubus hang from backpacks. And there are collector’s editions of LEGO sets that sell for as much as $799. Toys like these are known as collectibles. In 2023, people spent nearly $300 billion on them.

But the real fun of toy collecting is buying regular toys with the hope that their worth will increase over time. So what’s the secret? How can you know whether a train set or a teddy bear will make you a fortune one day? 

Sorry, but you can’t. It’s hard to predict just which toys might make you rich . . . and which ones you’ll be giving away to your cousins. Interestingly, the toys that gain value are often the ones nobody wanted when they were brand-new. 

Remember that Luke Skywalker toy that sold for $25,000? It came with a lightsaber—a type of sword—that broke easily. The company stopped making the toy, so not many of them exist. Today they’re very rare, which is why people will pay so much money to own one. 

Then there’s the Roller Beach Bomb. In 1969, the toy company Mattel created this Hot Wheels van. But there was one problem: The van kept tipping over and falling off the Hot Wheels racetrack. 

Most people who bought these toys returned them—or threw them out. Hot Wheels quickly stopped making them. If you’re lucky enough to have one still in its packaging, you might be able to sell it to a collector for $150,000. That’s enough to buy five real cars!

Today many toys are made just to be collected. Funko Pop dolls spend their lives sitting on shelves. Labubus hang from backpacks. And there are collector’s editions of LEGO sets that sell for up to $799. Toys like these are known as collectibles. In 2023, people spent nearly $300 billion on them.

Some say the real fun of toy collecting is buying regular toys with the hope that their worth will go up over time. But how can you know if a train set or a teddy bear will make you a fortune one day?

Sorry, but you can’t. It’s hard to guess which toys might make you rich. Or which ones you’ll end up giving away. What’s interesting is that the toys that gain value are often the ones nobody wanted when they were brand-new.

Remember that Luke Skywalker toy that sold for $25,000? It came with a sword that broke easily. The company stopped making the toy. So not many of them exist. Today they’re very rare. And that’s why people will pay a lot of money to own one.

Another example is the Roller Beach Bomb. It was a toy van. The toy company Mattel created it in 1969. But there was one problem. The van kept tipping over and falling off the toy racetrack. 

Most people who bought these toys returned them. Or they threw them out. Mattel quickly stopped making the van. If you have one still in its packaging, you’re lucky. You might be able to sell it to a collector for $150,000. That’s enough to buy five real cars!

Why would anyone spend $150,000 on an old toy car? We could ask the same question about a person who paid $500,000 for a letter signed by George Washington or who bought a painting by a famous artist for $5 million. 

People collect for many different reasons—because they hope an object will become more valuable, because they want to feel connected to history, or because they are inspired by a work of art. Some love the hunt for a rare toy, the thrill of finding a hidden treasure. 

But there’s another reason to collect old toys: because they remind a person of happy moments from their childhood. Maybe your old LEGO bricks will never be worth a fortune. But years from now, they might remind you of your best friend. And that’s worth something, isn’t it?

Why would anyone pay $150,000 for an old toy car? We could ask the same question about a person who paid $500,000 for a letter signed by George Washington or a famous painting for $5 million.

People collect for many different reasons. Some hope an object will become more valuable. Others want to feel connected to history. Some feel inspired by a work of art. And some love looking for a rare toy. They like the feeling of finding a hidden treasure.

But there’s another reason to collect old toys. They can remind people of happy times from their childhoods. Maybe your old LEGO bricks will never be worth a fortune. But years from now, they might remind you of your best friend. And that’s worth something, isn’t it? 

When I was 12, my grandmother Jennie—my bright-smiling, hug-giving, chocolate-cake-baking, tsunami-of-love nana—gave me a present. It was a gold heart necklace.

It was very valuable, I was sure—solid gold. I wore it only on special occasions.  Otherwise I kept it hidden in my sock drawer with my other treasures, like the rattlesnake rattle my uncle gave me.

As I got older, I wore the necklace more and more, and always when I visited my grandmother or when she came to stay with me. 

“Oh!” she’d exclaim. “It looks beautiful on you!”

My grandmother Jennie was a bright-smiling, hug-giving, cake-baking, big-loving person. When I was 12, she gave me a present. It was a gold heart necklace.

I was sure it was very valuable. I thought it was solid gold. I wore it only on special occasions. Otherwise I kept it hidden in my sock drawer. It stayed there with my other treasures, like the rattlesnake rattle my uncle gave me.

As I got older, I wore the necklace more and more. And I always wore it when I visited my grandmother or when she came to visit me.

“Oh!” she’d say. “It looks beautiful on you!”

Decades passed, and my collection of jewelry grew. But that necklace remained my prized possession. 

More than 10 years ago, my grandmother died peacefully at the age of 92. I wore the gold heart to her funeral. And then, a few months later, the chain broke.

I brought the heart to the jewelry store to buy a new chain. 

“You sure you want a real gold chain for this heart?” the man asked, after studying it closely. 

“Of course,” I said. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“Well . . .” the man said. And then he told me the shocking news: My precious heart was a mix of brass and copper—fake gold. If I were to buy one like it today, it might cost $10, $20 tops. 

The family treasure was pretty much worthless.

Except, of course, it wasn’t. 

I bought a new chain—a real gold one. I wear the heart on very special occasions. Because to me, the value of the heart is not in the gold. It’s in the memories that flood back when I wear it: my grandmother’s huge smile, how her eyes would light up when she saw me, how she always made me feel like I was the most special person in the world. 

That locket might not be worth much money.

But to me, it’s priceless.

Years passed. My collection of jewelry grew. But that necklace was my prized possession.

More than 10 years ago, my grandmother died peacefully at the age of 92. I wore the gold heart to her funeral. And then, a few months later, the chain broke.

I brought the heart to the jewelry store to buy a new chain.

“You sure you want a real gold chain for this heart?” the man asked, after closely looking at it.

“Of course,” I said. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“Well . . .” the man said. And then he told me the shocking news. My precious heart was a mix of brass and copper—fake gold. If I bought one like it today, it might cost $10. 

My treasure was pretty much worthless.

Except, of course, it wasn’t. 

I bought a new chain—a real gold one. I wear the heart on very special occasions. To me, the value of the heart is not in the gold. It’s in the memories that come back when I wear it. I think of my grandmother’s huge smile. I remember how her eyes would light up when she saw me. I recall how she always made me feel like I was the most special person in the world.

That locket might not be worth much money. 

But to me, it’s priceless.