A six-figure price tag for a boat might not turn too many heads.
But what if that wasn't the price of a typical boat, but rather, a toy boat measuring 38 inches?
Seriously.
A Märklin Oceanliner "Amerika" from the early 20th century sold for $118,750 at Bertoia Auctions on Friday.
Its pre-sale estimate was $80,000 to $120,000.
For the same price, you could buy a 22-foot fishing boat (life-sized).
Massive results for Märklin toys are nothing new.
Märklin is so beloved, toys from its golden years over a century ago frequently sell for tens of thousands of dollars or more. Among the grails of Märklin toys, this ship was described as “museum quality” and the finest ever sold at auction.
The German company, founded around 1859, made a name for itself by producing highly detailed clockwork-powered toy trains.
By the turn of the century, the company expanded its offerings to include ships and planes, finding success selling the intricately designed toys to affluent families across Europe.
The lightweight nature of the products made it all that much easier to export and ship to various countries, soon developing a reputation as one of the world’s top toy producers in the lead-up to World War I.
Today, collectors appreciate many of the same aspects of Märklin toys as the children who originally played with them, eyeing the most complex pieces as remarkable feats of engineering in their own right. Not to mention, the very nature of these mechanical toys and their moving parts resulting in very few surviving today — let alone in good shape.
Last year, another Märklin boat sold for more than $250,000. Previously, another Amerika ship sold for a record $271,000 in 2016.
In January 2005, more than 100 pieces were stolen from the Märklin museum in Göppingen, Germany, worth more than $1 million.
Later that year the pieces, including prototypes and some of the company’s earlier productions, were recovered in full.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.