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Smith-Miller Coca-Cola Truck, ca. 1955

Value (2021) | $800 Auction – $1,200 Auction
Watch  

GUEST:
It was a Christmas present when I was a child. My grandmother was downtown shopping for a present. She was a dirt-poor lady, and some gentleman-- they say he was a banker in town-- bought this truck for her. He did this as random acts of kindness. She gave it to me... I could not tell you if I was two, three years old, how exactly old I was at the time.

APPRAISER:
Now, where was this?

GUEST:
Great Bend, Kansas.

APPRAISER:
It has a Great Bend, Kansas, mailing address on there. What's great about this is the condition. Did you play with it?

GUEST:
Very seldom. I could only play with it in the front room, on the rug, no more than one hour at a time.

APPRAISER:
Uh-huh.

GUEST:
Never to be taken outside. Then, naturally, after a while, it lost its fun.

APPRAISER:
(laughing)

GUEST:
So I didn't play with it anymore, and it's sat in this box for a long time.

APPRAISER:
Yeah, if you couldn't really go at it...

GUEST:
Exactly.

APPRAISER:
...it wasn't that much fun to play with.

GUEST:
Exactly.

APPRAISER:
Well, at the time, I'm sure that wasn't a good thing. But now, that turned out to be a very good thing, because of the condition. It's Smith-Miller. And it's written clearly on the box, "Smith-Miller Toys," and it's marked on the truck, Smith-Miller.

GUEST:
Okay.

APPRAISER:
Now, Smith-Miller started in the '40s, and they were one of the first companies to make toys in aluminum. The cab of this truck is cast aluminum. Now, they started making Coke trucks in the '40s, and they used a couple of different cab styles. And it's a cab-over-engine cab. So we really have a mint, in-box toy here, but we also have a Coca-Cola collectible.

GUEST:
I see.

APPRAISER:
So there's a lot of interest from the toy market and also from Coke collectors. Smith-Miller closed down in the '50s. And when they closed down, the factory line was shut down, and basically everything remained there until the 1970s, and a gentleman bought all the existing remnants of the factory. And he put together many examples.

GUEST:
Oh, wow, okay.

APPRAISER:
And so there are some mint-condition Coke trucks on the market. Now, they're legitimate Coke trucks.

GUEST:
They're not reproductions.

APPRAISER:
But what, what is interesting about yours is, you have the history. You got yours in the 1950s. I feel bad for you that you never got to play with it, like...

GUEST:
Well, it was fun when I did.

APPRAISER:
Yeah.

GUEST:
And I think she was terribly afraid of me losing just any one bottle.

APPRAISER:
The price then was over ten dollars. I mean, it was an expensive toy. On today's market, because of the condition, it's going to bring a premium. And an auction estimate would be $2,000 to $3,000.

GUEST:
Oh, man. Yes! APPRAISER (chuckling): Yes.

GUEST:
Thank... I'm glad that she wouldn't let me play with it. What can I say? Well, I've been playing with it lately. On the carpet, in the front room.

APPRAISER:
(laughing)

Support provided by: Learn more

Appraisal Details

Appraiser
Andy Ourant
Dolls, Toys & Games
Village Doll Shop
Adamstown, PA
Morphy Auctions
Update (2021)
$800 Auction – $1,200 Auction
Update (2014)
$1,500 Auction – $2,000 Auction
Appraised value (2008)
$2,000 Auction – $3,000 Auction
Featured In
Wichita, Hour 2 (#1308)
The Boomer Years (#1834)
Vintage Wichita (#2514)
Event
Wichita, KS (July 12, 2008)
Category
Toys & Games
Period
20th Century
Form
Original Box , Truck
Material
Aluminum , Glass , Metal

Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.

Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."

Note the date: Take note of the date the appraisal was recorded. This information appears in the upper left corner of the page, with the label "Appraised On." Values change over time according to market forces, so the current value of the item could be higher, lower, or the same as when our expert first appraised it.

Context is key: Listen carefully. Most of our experts will give appraisal values in context. For example, you'll often hear them say what an item is worth "at auction," or "retail," or "for insurance purposes" (replacement value). Retail prices are different from wholesale prices. Often an auctioneer will talk about what she knows best: the auction market. A shop owner will usually talk about what he knows best: the retail price he'd place on the object in his shop. And though there are no hard and fast rules, an object's auction price can often be half its retail value; yet for other objects, an auction price could be higher than retail. As a rule, however, retail and insurance/replacement values are about the same.

Verbal approximations: The values given by the experts on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW are considered "verbal approximations of value." Technically, an "appraisal" is a legal document, generally for insurance purposes, written by a qualified expert and paid for by the owner of the item. An appraisal usually involves an extensive amount of research to establish authenticity, provenance, composition, method of construction, and other important attributes of a particular object.

Opinion of value: As with all appraisals, the verbal approximations of value given at ROADSHOW events are our experts' opinions formed from their knowledge of antiques and collectibles, market trends, and other factors. Although our valuations are based on research and experience, opinions can, and sometimes do, vary among experts.

Appraiser affiliations: Finally, the affiliation of the appraiser may have changed since the appraisal was recorded. To see current contact information for an appraiser in the ROADSHOW Archive, click on the link below the appraiser's picture. Our Appraiser Index also contains a complete list of active ROADSHOW appraisers and their contact details and biographies.

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