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A blast from the past, antique pedal cars never go out of style.
By Jim Griffith
Griff, my elderly neighbor hired me to clean out her shed. While removing old boxes and crates, I uncovered this pretty old toy truck. To my glee, she told me I could keep it. I tried to look up the truck at my local library but couldn’t find any info. Can you help?
Always happy to help a new collector. As with every request I receive about the origin and value of a particular old item, the resulting investigation yields some interesting and intriguing information, and your request was no exception.
One of the most popular toys of the early 20th century, metal pedal cars mimicked the sleek and streamlined curves and colors of the full-sized car designs of the day. Made of painted or enameled metal with rubber-lined wheels, pedal cars were popular up until the 1960s, when they were eventually replaced by the ubiquitous (and nearly indestructible) plastic three-wheeler pedal cars popular in the 1970s.
Your toy truck was made in the 1950s by the Garton Toy Company of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, one of the 20th century’s “big four” of pedal car manufacturers. From 1879 until the 1960s, the Garton Company manufactured a line of popular pedal cars as well as sleds, wagons and other toys. Your truck, the Casey Jones Cannonball Express pedal car, was manufactured by Garton in the late 1950s into the early 1960s.
Some notes about collecting vintage pedal cars. As with all collecting, condition is king. Pedal car collectors will pay upwards of $1,000 for rare specimens in perfect condition (like a mint Garton Kidillac from
the early 1950s). Given that pedal cars were usually used by their owners, it is nearly impossible to find one in pristine condition. Some dealers and owners will touch up
the paint, sometimes even completely sandblasting and re-surfacing severely used or rusted examples. It is possible to find new replacement parts for the most popular
old vintage pedal cars; I found many at speedwaymotors.com. Restorations and replacements are acceptable as long as you, the buyer, are fully aware of them and the car is priced accordingly.
Although it is not possible to determine from a photograph if the paint or parts have been restored or replaced on your Cannonball Express, it does appear to be in good, untouched condition, and given its found location, it was probably never restored. Based on past listings on eBay, a Garton pedal car in this “as found” condition is worth anywhere from $250–$400.
Where to find more pedal cars? Besides rummaging through other sheds, yard sales and local shops, try searching eBay, using the key words “pedal car.” Prices vary wildly. Although Garton pedal cars usually go for $100–$1,000, some early 20th century, hard-to-find examples can bring upwards of $5,000, but don’t despair. There are lots of good collectible pedal cars on eBay in the $50–$200 range. As always when shopping on eBay, read the descriptions carefully, check the seller’s feedback and always e-mail the seller with any questions you have before you submit your bid.
Happy Hunting!
Jim “Griff” Griffith is the Dean of eBay Education and the author of The Official eBay Bible. E-mail him your questions (with images) at griff@ebay.com.
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