Marklin toy boat tops Wallis & Wallis sale

When it comes to collectible vintage toy boats, one name stands above the others: Marklin.

And to prove the point, a 26cm-long tinplate 1930s Marklin steam-powered boat auctioned for £11,500 ($14,275) at Wallis & Wallis in the UK recently, smashing its £1,200 high estimate.

Marklin boat

One of only two examples of its type

Rarity was an important factor in the price. The Antiques Trade Gazette reports the auction house believes only one other example exists.

Yet that £11,500 figure is small compared with prices achieved by larger Marklin vessels.

A Marklin toy ocean liner, made circa 1900, auctioned for $271,400 last year.

The German manufacturer, better known in its homeland for its model trains, has been manufacturing toy boats for more than a century.

These machines have a global fanbase. A US bidder beat out a Swiss rival in the present sale.

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