The inspiration behind Matchbox cars came from a school rule. Leslie and Rodney Smith started their toy company, Lesney Products, shortly after World War II, and tool and die maker Jack O’Dell joined them to make die-cast vehicles and other toys. Their first toy was a road roller, but when O’Dell’s daughter was told that only toys small enough to fit inside a matchbox could be brought to school, the rest was history. O’Dell created a smaller model, starting a trend in model cars that would last for generations.
Matchbox cars have always been inexpensive toys, with today’s models still selling for typically less than $2. But you might want to check your vintage Matchbox cars before giving them away since some can be worth thousands of dollars. As with most collectibles, the car’s condition is important, but most of these are valuable because they are rare. Many were produced as samples and differ from the variations chosen for mass production — therefore, explaining the reason why some are valued as much as 100 times their original cost.
