DENVER, PA.- A 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle rookie card and a circa-1893 W Britains Germanic boxed set of royal fusilier soldiers brought identical selling prices of $51,660 to share top lot honors in Morphy’s Toys & General Collectibles auction held June 2nd and 3rd. The sale was packed with 1,362 lots of rare and desirable antique and vintage toys and totaled more than $1.8 million.

“We broke records in the soldier, marble and lunchbox categories,” said Dan Morphy, the owner and principal auctioneer of Morphy Auctions. “Bidders weren’t shy about going after what they wanted to add to their collections.”



The 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle rookie card, an absolute must-have for serious sports memorabilia collectors, was a recent find from a 50-year collection and had not yet been submitted for grading. However, the card displayed well, with strong color and corners, and the centering was fantastic for a Mantle card from this elusive year of production. The selling price of $51,660 was within estimate.



The W Britains Germanic boxed set of royal fusiliers is one of the best sets of Britains known -- so important that James Opie pictured the set on the cover of The Great Book of Britains. This is the only known boxed example and its condition was outstanding. The set contained eight foot figures and a mounted officer. The final selling price of $51,660 easily bested the high estimate of $15,000.



That wasn’t the only Britains set to make the list of top lots. A first-version 275-piece set of W Britains’ Types of the British Army No. 131 lead toy soldiers, which included both cavalry and infantry figures, was housed in a wooden box measuring 45½ inches by 24 inches by 6 inches, with two trays that could be lifted out. The set changed hands for $41,820, which was within estimate.



Back to baseball. A complete and original unopened wax box of 1972 Topps baseball cards (Series 3, cards #264-394), containing 24 factory-sealed packs, each with 10 cards, totaling 240 cards in all, rang up $35,670, just above the $35,000 high estimate. The uncirculated display box, presenting beautifully with crisp structure and minimal wear, housed the high-grade unopened packs inside.



Leading the way in the marbles category was a Christensen Agate No. 1 guinea box set containing five blue base guineas, seven amber guineas, and 13 clear base, nine of which were cyclone guineas. “This was the best box set of guineas we have seen,” Dan Morphy said. “The marbles were hand-selected to make this special grouping of killer examples.” The set brought a record $49,200.



A large green glass marble loaded with heavy lutz, measuring 2-1/8 inches in diameter and with dazzling eye appeal and presentation, realized $29,520 against a high estimate of $25,000. It’s rare to find one in this large size with a high-condition grade of 9.7, but this marble checked those boxes.



A sulphide marble with an outstanding painted detailed figure of a rearing horse with brown mane and tail on green grass, graded 9.3 for condition, came into the sale with a modest $6,000 high estimate. But eager bidders overlooked the very slight three-point surface fracture, which didn’t distract from the strong figure and paint on this rare sulphide. The final selling price was $27,060.

A wildly colorful single pontil Joseph’s Coat clown marble with great surface condition and graded well at 9.7, knocked down at $24,600 against a high estimate of $15,000. It was an outstanding marble, one that boasted a white base and great spotting colors of red, yellow, green, and blue.

A hard-to-find single-pontil Maglite blue 360-degree Indian marble having a Maglite blue base with spotting colors of green, pink, white, and orange, and great surface condition, hit $9,840. It was one of the real sleepers of the sale, considering the pre-sale estimate was a minuscule $800-$1,200.



With the lunchbox craze gathering steam in the early 1950s, there were several new entrants into the market, all keen to a turn a profit. A rare Superman lithographed metal lunchbox with Thermos and protective case, manufactured by ADCO Liberty and released by Universal in 1954, breezed to $31,980, well beyond the $20,000 high estimate. The front of the box’s metal housing colorfully depicted a fierce battle between the Man of Steel and a giant gold robot against the city skyline.

An ultra-rare circa mid-1950s Toppie the Elephant metal lithographed lunchbox, decorated with cheerful balloon motifs and playful cartoon imagery typical of early post-war children’s design, netted $16,605, a little bit more than the high estimate. This near-mint example retained its original matching Thermos with red cup lid and coordinating elephant graphics. Additionally, the lot included two original Toppie companion books, an uncommon and highly desirable inclusion.



A stunning circa-1974 Leonard TTV metal Underdog lunchbox in fantastic condition, showing some extremely mild surface scratches but still nearly mint overall, found a new home for $22,140, nearly tripling the $8,000 high estimate. The Thermos-Sew brand Thermos wasn’t original to the lunchbox.



A Yonezawa (Japan) tin litho battery-operated Smoking Robot in the original box, with inserts, the very rare green litho variation, achieved $14,760 against a high estimate of $6,000. The box had some slight creasing and wear, but the 8-inch-tall robot had little wear and was in fine condition.

An exceedingly rare spelter spread-winged owl bank in beautiful original condition, diminutive at just 4 inches in height, crossed the finish line at $10,455, easily beating the $6,000 high estimate.

To discuss consigning to a future Toys & General Collectibles Auction, or other auction hosted by Morphy’s, call Dan Morphy at 877-968-8880 or email info@morphyauctions.com. All enquiries are kept strictly confidential, and there is never an obligation to consign. Online: www.morphyauctions.com.