Toy soldier

[Clad the Impaler]

Hi everyone. Another item I found this afternoon is an intact toy soldier with most of the original paint still on it. It was found near a flower bed in a park that dates to approx. 1915. Depth was about 4 1/2 to 5 inches. Can anyone provide the approximate age/tell how old it is/what era is it from? Also, what is it made out of? Lead? It rang up as a dime on my Ace 250. The helmet is of the type/style worn by WWI Doughboys, so I'm hoping it's from that era, though it may not be that old. If anyone has experience dating these old metal toy soldiers, please post!! Pics of both the front and back of the soldier are below. Thanks!!

 

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[Bigcypresshunter]

I would say WWI era but I dont know the manufacturer.

 

[Clad the Impaler]

I would say WWI era but I dont know the manufacturer.

Yeah, that's what I thought given the helmet and gear style. This was by far the deepest find I had today (everything else was less than 4 inches deep), and WWI era fits with the approximate age of the park (circa 1915).

 

[BioProfessor]

Just a friendly note about "assuming" things about finds. Just because you find something in an area that is Colonial, RW, CW, etc. You can't assume a find is from that period. And just because one find is deeper than the other finds, you can't assume it is older. It either case it MAY be but there is no guarantee. I have dug 3-ringers at 4" and beer cans at 12" within 50 feet of one another. It's just what it is and the way things wind up in the ground.

Gotta dig lead no matter what.

HH

Daryl

 

[Kenosha Kid]

http://stores.ebay.com/Rodneys-Dimestore-Gallery

That is one of the best sites, with a vast number of lead toys, that I use to check against. I have checked every single link and picture; however, I find no match for yours, either for WW I, 'doughboy' or a color guard type figure. It could be an American 'doughboy' or a British 'Tommy' uniform.

Now, it could be one of the links had no "flag bearer" listed. There are some companies, i.e. Tommy Toy, Lincoln Logs, Tootsietoy that even a google search came up empty (but could have been made by them). There are also quite a number of "dime stores" all across the world that could have had them made. Japanese and Canadian companies also made copies of lead soldiers from a few of the well known makers (Barclay or Manoil).

The back of the flag (picture #2) looks like like it has an X in the design (English or ?). I can't tell by the paint, other than one reddish stripe, what country it might be from.

You may want to write to the person (in the above link). Hopefully, they can track down what company, year, value estimate, etc.