APPRAISER: Sara, you brought in this truck.
GUEST: Yes.
APPRAISER: That was your grandfather's, is that correct?
GUEST: Yes, sir.
APPRAISER: And I understand he lets you play with it once in a while.
GUEST: Yes, sir.
APPRAISER: Well, I hope you play with it as well as he played with it, because he took very, very good care of this truck. What you have here is a Keystone pressed steel truck. They were probably the second major maker of these particular toys. Buddy L was the primary manufacturer; they made the best. Keystone, I think, is second-best, but still very good. As you could see by the original decal, this is the classic Packard front end. Most Keystone trucks were that way. What makes this truck particularly good is it's a police patrol wagon, a paddy wagon. Now, most kids would like a dump truck that has some action they can put sand in and dump sand. But to have a truck that really is to haul malefactors to jail it's sort of an odd thing for a child to play with. That again adds to the rarity of it. Now, what adds to the value of it is the condition your grandfather kept it in, because it has all these original decals here that say, "Police Patrol," has the original decal in the floor. They were fun to play with because they had operating steering wheels, little turn signal, all sorts of action. Wonder what your dad paid for this when he bought it.
GUEST: Santee Claus brought it to me.
APPRAISER: Santee Claus brought it to you, and probably paid about $5 or $6, which was a lot of money in those days. Back in 1922, '23. Back in '22, that was a hefty sum. Well, this toy today, because of its condition, which is extremely fine, this is the best condition I've ever seen of what is a fairly rare truck being the police patrol. I would say on today's market at auction could bring anywhere between $2,000 and $2,500. That's pretty good appreciation.
GUEST: Thank you, Santee Claus.
APPRAISER: Thank you, thank you very much.
