Featured KOSUGE 1953 Grey Cadillac Tin Toy

Recently got this at a garage sale. Marked SAN, Japan on bottom amongst other things. Rear license plate reads “2203”. I haven’t touched it, it’s pretty dirty. Early research is telling me this is pretty valuable. Thoughts? Thanks in advance!

KOSUGE Cadillac ‘53 Tin Toy by Jamo posted Nov 19, 2018 at 7:06 PM

 

When posting model cars it is always good to include a photo of the bottom.
And as to value, condition means a lot, as does collectablitiy of a specific model.

 

Seems like these cars have a following on Ebay, although asking prices and "sold" don't mesh up. Several asking over $2K, sold more like $500 or a bit more.

Probably your best bet is to get better photos with more angles as suggested, clean it up, and list internationally, letting the market decide value. If you are not an Ebay seller, becomes a bit more complicated. Be careful when cleaning. I would treat it very very carefully and not use any kind of harsh soap at all. Maybe get advice on what is best. There are probably websites devoted to this kind of collectible.

And as AJ said, condition on this kind of thing really impacts value. Hard to know what you have until it is cleaned up, but if you got it inexpensively, I think you did well.

 

Thank you all for the advice! Yes, it’s in rough shape for sure, and I am well aware that condition is everything. And I haven’t touched it yet as far as cleaning it bc I know it’s a dicey road to travel...

 

Here are some additional pics.

Tin Toy KOSUGE Cadillac bottom by Jamo posted Nov 20, 2018 at 7:13 PM

KOSUGE ‘53 Cadillac by Jamo posted Nov 20, 2018 at 7:15 PM

KOSUGE 53 Grey Cadillac by Jamo posted Nov 20, 2018 at 7:14 PM

 

Hi INH, thanks for the referral, but no, sorry, much as we think Jamo's Caddy is a wonderfully cool piece, it's well outside of our wheelhouse. We've done a fair amount of research on Japanese tin games, but not so much on toys -- and not enough to add any useful information as to prices or whatnot, which we infer is what Jamo is mainly looking for.

 

About 20 years ago I went through a phase of collecting 50s -60s Japanese tin cars. Like many things made in Japan after the war. . . these cars are nice with surprising detail on the larger, more elaborate ones - opening hoods, doors, sunroofs revealing great lithography inside.. even a real spare tire. The Yanoman VW was a real prize at 16 inches long and even had a running engine with visible internal crank & pistons.