I recently found this ship about 5" deep at a park with my metal detector. It says 129 TOOTSIETOY MADE IN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA on the bottom. I've tried searching for more information but the best I could do was find an identical one in a lot for sale on eBay, with no info. Does anybody have an idea what it's called or when it was made? Thanks.

I think there are some Tootsietoy references on the web. How much have you Googled? That one looks like a good candidate for a restoration.

I've done lots of Googling, the best I could find were a few lists for cars and mentions of books that probably have the info I'd like. Restoring it would be cool.

Tootsie made a set of ships back in the 30s - I would say keep it as-is with its original paint.

I remember having seen a reproduced commemorative boxed set in the 1990s but I am not sure, by that time, in which country they would have been made.

Ask Geralde61 he is the master of all things Tootsie!

Either way, I love hearing about stuff like this. A real "treasure hunt". Wash off the dirt and keep the patina. It's a great conversation piece.

Howdy,

It was made in the 50s, in that condition it's not worth much, but the story is great, put it on a shelf and enjoy. I'm on vacation and don't have my reference book, but it's either a war ship or a steamer, I'll check when I get back. I found an old Matchbox once with a metal detector.

Thanks for all the replies. And thanks GeraldE61, I'd really appreciate it if you could look it up. I'm not really concerned about it's value, just it's name and when it was made. I'm going to add it to my collection of interesting metal detector finds.

Thats a great 60 year old find~

I believe if you look under the bottom in the front you should see a number 129, which was called a Tender, it was made sometime in the 40s, I'll take a pic of mine and post it later, your's is missing the aft stack, but remarkable condition for being buried.

For people interested in these, they are hard to find in good condition, most of them have broken parts. Here's three of mine. There were 10 different models made, the Freighter, Tanker, Destroyer, Submarine, Tender, Yacht, Battleship, Cruiser, Carrier and Transport. Some of them came in Civilian and Military paint. Made from 1940-1946 (approximately).

As you can see, my Tender was probably a sand box toy itself, I have never tried to clean it up.

http://home.centurytel.net/geralde61/ttship1.jpg

On the left is the Transport, then the Cruiser and the Tender
http://home.centurytel.net/geralde61/ttship2.jpg

Thanks for the info GeraldE61. I'm going back to that park tomorrow, who knows, maybe I'll find the rest of the set :thumbsup: