A friend found this while metal detecting at a construction site. Can't find any markings on it so I thought I'd put it up here, since I know a lot of you guys are knowledgeable about this kind of thing. Anyone have any ideas about who might have made this & when? Thanks
Found it. It's a "Chrysler Thunderbolt" futuristic roadster made by Tootsietoy in 1941. https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-tootsietoy-745-jumbo-1941-412852255 Thanks for the help!
That was some pretty forward thinking in 1941. Sotheby's sold the real one in 2011 for $935,000.00 Guess yours ought to be worth at least half that.
Beat me to it! I found a bunch of my old Tootsie cars and trucks in my parents basement after they had passed away and we were getting the house ready to sell. My brother and I must have put a million miles on toy cars and trucks back in the 50's. Tootsie toys were always our favorites. I have 40 or 50 of them in a showcase that my grandsons bug me to let them play with. Ever try to say no to a big eyed 3 year old? I can't, they tell me it's a special treat for them and they are really careful with them. I see some of them on eBay that bring big money.
Unfortunately, this car is not a Chrysler Thunderbolt. It's a generic design, typical of a lot of die-cast toy manufacturers in the postwar era. The sleeve-and-pin axel design indicates it's postwar Tootsietoy, circa 1949-1958. Unfortunately, a lot of eBay sellers (as linked herein) find stuff like this and , not knowing what it is, make up something they hope will help it sell, even if it isn't true. Prewar Tootsietoys were nicely detailed actual models, similar in quality to Dinky Toys. But their postwar stuff was a terrible disappointment to enthusiasts, with boxy, unrealistic body shapes and closed wheel wells, and which have only lukewarm interest today. Hope this helps.
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