DALLAS — After a fierce bidding war, a 1966 Japanese domestic-market Batmobile tin toy set a record at $150,000 as the top lot in Heritage Auctions‘ Ultimate Batman Collection Signature auction.
Made by leading Japanese toymaker Yonezawa, the friction-powered Toyopet (Toyota) Crown with Batman at the wheel, which survived with its original box, is now the most valuable Batman toy ever auctioned.
In all, the sold-out August 4-5 event brought in a whopping $1,395,762.
“Japanese Batman tin toys certainly made their mark,” said Heritage Consignment Director of Action Figures and Toys, Justin Caravoulias. “They accounted for more than $459,000 of the total.”
More than 1,000 bidders worldwide participated in the sale packed with toys, dolls, robots, action figures, dioramas, original packaging art, prized trinkets and other memorabilia featuring Batman, Robin and their famous foes. These treasures, most in or with their original packaging, also spanned the globe, hailing from Japan, England, the United States, South America, Europe and beyond.
“This weekend’s results show, as we’ve long known, that there is an incredible international appetite for Japanese popular culture,” says Heritage Auctions Executive Vice President Joe Maddalena. “These Japanese toy rarities are largely unknown except in Japan, but it’s clear from this auction’s runaway success that a worldwide audience is eager to bid on and compete for the best of the best in character collectibles.”
All prices listed are inclusive of buyer’s premium.
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