GUEST: I got it at a yard sale in Tucson.
APPRAISER: Uh-huh-- and how long ago?
GUEST: About three years ago.
APPRAISER: It's quite a find for a yard sale. Ah… may I ask what you paid for it?
GUEST: I paid $100.
APPRAISER: $100, and now, um... you've done some research on this.
GUEST: I've tried to look it up, but I don't find a name on it or anything else.
APPRAISER: Uh-huh. Yeah, well, a lot of the cast-iron toys didn't have names, so it does make it a little difficult to identify. Ah… when... in your research, what did you figure it was worth?
GUEST: Around the $800 range.
APPRAISER: Well, what you have found is, in fact, made by a company called Ives, who were the premier toy manufacturer of America. They made... they made banks, toys of all kinds, tin and iron and clockwork in the late 19th century, and then they eventually got into toy trains in the early part of the 20th century and then were bought out by Lionel. But Ives, for toy collectors, is the Cadillac of toys. And what you have here is what is called the "Ives Oversize." Very wonderful, and highly sought-after and extremely rare. You really made an incredible find. It's a wonderful toy with this great galloping action. It's also great because you have the original figures, which are often missing. So, for $100... well, let's just say this. $800 is about the price for a run-of-the-mill, low-end fire pumper. An Ives Oversize pumper like this one, you're looking at, easily, $4,000 to $5,000…
GUEST: Oh, that’s…
APPRAISER: …in today's market.
GUEST: That's a lot more than I thought it would be.
APPRAISER: Well, all I have to say is, I'm getting up early tomorrow and going to some garage sales if this is what you can find.
