A collection of hundreds of toy vehicles that was auctioned off over the weekend has netted the original collector's family almost $100,000.
Dunedin's Proctors Auctions sold more than 740 lots of diecast vehicles during Sunday's auction. The auction attracted bids from across the globe.
Auctioneer Ronnie Proctor told RNZ's Morning Report the vehicles auctioned included models from the 1950s to the early 2000s.
"The mid-50s ones are the most popular because that's the ones that are the hardest to come by.
"A lot of them were still in their original matchbox, which is really unusual to come by."
The collection originally belonged to a late Invercargill man who had collected for decades since the age of six.
"It came from down south, and it was all spread out through his house," Proctor said.
"We went and picked it up. It took one really large truck to pick everything up.
"It was really exciting to see."
A Ford Corsair with a boat, and Ford Zodiac from the '50s were sold as a pair for $750, Proctor said.
"That was the highest amount for one lot," he said.
Another lot, including a white VW racer and Jeep, was sold for $400.
Other items were sold for upwards of $90. Proctor said the condition of collectors' items was essential if they were to be sold for large sums.
"This gentleman had kept his in extremely good condition. He'd been collecting them since he was six years old, until he passed away in his mid-80s.
"The cars are in amazing condition."
Toy car models from the 1980s were also highly valuable.
"Us as children when we were playing with their cars in the early-80s and 90s. If we looked after them, we could have been sitting on a bit of money," Proctor said.
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