Palace Series, 5550 Toy Soldiers (1 Viewer)

[DMNamiot]

Hi Guys,

Need some help here trying to get an idea of value etc of some soldiers a person found in their fathers estate. On the side of the box it reads " Fred Bonner, New York" and "Made in England". Soldiers appear to be new.

Any help with these would be appreciated.

 

[sonofzelda]

These soldiers look to me like they were made by a British company called Charbens. They are not new but were made in the fifties. They are in such good condition because they were not played with and kept away from sunlight. As is quite clear from the photo they were copies of Timpo's GI range which were designed by the legendary Roy Selwyn-Smith. However the Charben's sculptor was not in the same league as Roy S-S. I've never heard of the Palace series or seen a boxed set for sale so I assume they were aimed purely for export to the American market which was quite common after the war to earn foreign currency. Generally Charbens figure are not as valuable as Timpo and the figures without the box would be worth about £10 each. However because they are a very rare(in my estimate) boxed set in excellent condition I would guess they would fetch £150-200 at auction and would be retailed by a dealer for £200-300. So I think your friend should be quite pleased with his find. If you email the picture to Vectis or Bonham's I'm sure they will give you a more prefessional valuation and will sell them for your friend in England if he so wishes. Their websites are Vectis.co.uk and Bonhams.com and they have some of the best toy soldier experts in the world.
I hope this is of some help
Regards
Bob Beggs