11      The Present and Future of Silver Toys

 

 

 

espite the fact that gold and silver prices are rising daily, the amount of silver toys being produced today is far more than it was a few years back. The majority of modern toys are foreign imports from many different countries, and although in days gone by the collector wouldn’t have given a piece of silver not made of 925 purity a second glance, times have changed. The Assay Office has decided to recognise this standard of silver so there are more toys becoming available of that standard.

   These toys are bright, they lack the patina of older silver toys, but they are well made, and the maker doesn’t seem to skimp on silver. They will be the antiques of tomorrow. The fact that some countries make their toys in lesser grades of silver than ours is of no great consequence because countries like Germany have been doing it for years and have produced some fine toys, though not a lot. The crossbow shown in Figure 80 is marked 800 silver, which I am sure any collector would agree is a fine prize to have in one’s collection.

There are some good quality toys coming from Italy, Malta and Greece. Most are marked with the silver grade, if nothing else.

Miniatures encompass many different silver items, including the larger ones used for children to hold and play with as they did hundreds of years ago. There are now available very smart coloured enamelled pill boxes in 925 grade silver. These boxes are well made and very attractive and have been seen for sale in street markets at prices ranging from £12 to £45.00. Where they were made is a mystery as they have no assay markings on them apart from the silver grade. Still, they are attractive and will in due course become a collectable and an investment.

The modern interest in collecting silver miniature toys has produced many attractive copies of Georgian originals, and some toys that are very modern and have never been made before, such as motor cars, tractors, aeroplanes and bicycles, just to mention a few. It means that even now one can start a collection at today’s prices, which are very reasonable. There is also a very large range of silver pendant charms coming on the market in every conceivable design. These were never intended to be classed as toys, but apart from the ring attached to them, that’s what they look like and now would be a very good time to start collecting them.

It appears that one can expect many kinds of silver grading now that the British have relaxed their standards from sterling silver. There are many different grades, ranging from 800 to 950 silver, some of which were, up until recently, not classed as acceptable standards.

It is good to see that the production of silver toys has not lapsed. The demand is getting greater every year and silver prices are rising so that it makes sense to invest in these charming collectables. There is no evidence that we in England are today making them in any great quantity, but Canada has a Little Dollhouse Company with a very active toymaker and silversmith who is producing first-class doll’s house silver toys at very reasonable prices.

Their shop and factory, at 612 Mount Pleasant Rd, Toronto, Canada, is open every day of the week and accessible online at http://www.thelittledollhousecompany.com. They have been trading for 35 years and have established very high standards both in making and selling doll’s houses and all that goes in them Not only does their silversmith Don Henry manufacture toys in silver he also makes them in gold.