Hide Your Wallet From This Incredible Auction of Vintage Lord of the Rings Toys

If you have a cave full of gold and an achingly lonely toy shelf, Hake’s Auctions has a stash of well-preserved vintage collectibles ready to serve your needs. While we probably won’t be bidding on any of the lots—including decades-old releases from Star Wars, Transformers, G.I. Joe, Batman, Ghostbusters, and Ralph Bakshi’s animated Lord of the Rings film—we will certainly ogle the photos with glee. Enjoy!

Knickerbocker The Lord of the Rings Frodo

Released in 1979 to commemorate the 1978 animated film, this lot includes a blister card containing a three-inch Frodo figure, only slightly smaller than actual Hobbit size. It’s estimated to go for $400-$700 and the auction runs through March 20; bid here.

Knickerbocker The Lord of the Rings Frodo (back of card)

The packaging emphasizes the “you need all of these!” mentality that is now an understood component of all toy collecting. All of these individual toys are also up for grabs in this auction, as you’ll see.

Knickerbocker The Lord of the Rings Gandalf the Grey

Featuring a luxurious plastic beard, Gandalf is estimated to go for $700-$1,000; the auction closes March 20 and you can bid here.

Knickerbocker The Lord of the Rings Frodo’s Horse

This five-inch rendering of Frodo’s horse is estimated to go for $2,000-$5,000; the auction closes March 20 and you can bid here.

Knickerbocker Lord of the Rings Samwise Gamgee

Sam will set you back an estimated $400-$700; bid here by March 20.

Knickerbocker Lord of the Rings Aragorn

What’s more disturbing here: Aragorn’s eyes or the realization that he’s not actually wearing pants? He’s estimated to pull in a kingly $700-$1,000; bid here by March 20.

Knickerbocker Lord of the Rings Gollum

Speaking of characters who don’t need pants: if I had $400-$700 to spend, this toothy rendering of Gollum would be my top pick. Bid here by March 20.

Knickerbocker Lord of the Rings Ringwraith the Black Rider

According to the auction website, “Due to the figure’s spiked helmet, this figure’s blister is typically found with either cracks/holes or at the very least dents. None of these defects are present here, making this the nicest example of this coveted Lord of the Rings figure we have ever offered.” The estimated price is $2,000-$5,000; bid here by March 20.

Knickerbocker Lord of the Rings Charger of the Ringwraith

If you’re gonna go for the Black Rider, you might as well also set your sights on his steed. Estimated to go for $2,000-$5,000; bid here by March 20.

Star Wars Early Bird Mail-Away Kit

According to the auction press release: “It’s the world’s first action figure pre-order! The kit to pre-purchase four Star Wars action figures in 1977—and the figures you got in 1978—are reunited here in this ungraded set. Not only do you get R2, Chewy and Leia, you also get a Luke that has a double-bladed lightsaber!” Head to the auction page to bid by March 20 ($5,000-$7,000 is the estimate), and also to see all the documentation and ephemera that’s part of the lot, including the Sears bag carefully preserved by a forward-thinking 1970s collector.

Star Wars “Revenge of the Jedi” Mock-Up Concept Proof Card

You’ll need $10,000-$20,000 (estimated; bid here by March 20) to get your claws on this very, very rare piece of memorabilia. It’s a mock-up card for Kenner’s planned Revenge of the Jedi toyline (check out that logo!), which of course got a re-do when the movie’s title was changed to Return of the Jedi.

Sears-Exclusive Batman Puppet Theatre by Ideal

Calling all deep-pocketed Batman fans: this mixed-media set includes a cardboard theater and hand puppets for Batman, the Joker, and Robin. The auction house notes “this is among the nicest and the only complete example [of this item] we’ve offered in our 57 years.” Pretty amazing how good this looks considering it was released in 1966! It’s estimated to rake in $5,000-$10,000; bid here by March 20.

Masters of the Universe Eternia Playset

Expected to fetch $10,000-$20,000, this Mattel playset is in exceptionally good condition (according to the auction house, a less-pristine version sold for just over $13,000 last year); bid here by March 20 if you are powerless to resist its charms. According to the lot description, “upon its release in 1986, Eternia was sold at an extremely high price for a toy at the time, which led to few being sold. This large and impressive playset is often referred to as the ‘holy grail’ of Masters Of The Universe collecting.” Appropriately, this thing is huge: it comes with “three themed towers (Central Tower, Grayskull Tower, and Viper Tower) with three different battery-operated vehicles (Battle Tram, Sky Cage, and Jet Pack Fighter) that run around the entire playset on monorail system.”

Hasbro’s Tribes Unproduced Toys

Did you know Hasbro had big plans to crowd Mattel’s Masters of the Universe domination with its own line of musclebound toys, dubbed “Tribes”? I did not, until I saw this page of long-lost prototype toys now up for auction. Though Tribes never made it to the market—according to the auction house, it failed to make a splash at the 1990 Toy Fair, owing to waning interest in He-Man—you can now own a piece of pop culture that never was. This figure of the “Young Bear” character has an estimated value of $1,000-$2,000; bid here by March 20.

The Real Ghostbusters Ecto-1 Vehicle

You’ll need an estimated $1,000-$2,000 to add this always-cool ride to the Real Ghostbusters subset of your greater Ghostbusters collection. Ghost figure included! Bid here by March 20.

G.I. Joe Firefly

This 1984 release features a 3.75-inch figure of Firefly (Cobra Saboteur); as you can see, it’s in stunning condition, and therefore is estimated to be worth $2,000-$5,000. Bid here by March 20.

Transformers Series 1 - Soundwave

You can claim this figure of the Decepticon who snuck around disguised as a cassette recorder (what screams “1984 pop culture” more?) for an estimated $5,000-$10,000; bid here by March 20.

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