BellaLuLu

Baseball cards, Fiestaware, Hummels, and Depression
glass wax and wane in popularity but antique and vintage

toys remain a staple among collectors.   To illustrate how children's toys have been defined by modern designers, 
the Museum of Modern Art in New York City is hosting

Century of the Child, 1900 - 2000. 

Over 500 items were loaned to the MOMA from collectors worldwide.  The show
runs until November 5, 2012.

Thirty wooden pieces were included in a set of Build the Town Building Blocks in 1940.

Creator Ladislav Sutnar was born in the Czech Republic in 1897 but emigrated to

America and continued to design toys until his death in 1976.

 Dutch designer Gerrit Rietveld created this simple child's wheelbarrow in 1923.  

 

Renate Muller, of Germany, created this play set in 1985 using 

jute, leather, and wood.

Joaquin Torres-Garcia, Uruguay, designed these three figures

with twelve interchangeable wooden pieces in 1925.

The Omnibot 2000, a remote-controlled robot, was manufactured

by Tomy (formerly Tomiyama), Tokyo, in 1985.

Still with its original box, this Holdraketa rocket was

manufactured by Lemezaru Gyar, Budapest, in 1960.

The Ford convertible toy car was produced in 1956 by Marusan Shoten, Ltd., Tokyo;

the Subaru 360 toy car was manufactured by Bandai, Tokyo, in 1963.

Minka Podhajska, born in Czechoslovakia in 1881,

created a series of childhood characters in 1930.

This World War II children's game was created in Italy in 1944.

John Rideout and Harold vanDoren designed the Skippy-Racer scooter in 1933.

The Graf Zeppelin, a toy dirigible, was distributed by J.C. Penney Co. in 1930. 

German designer Hans Brockhage created the schaukelwagon (rocking car) in 1950.

Source

In just about any economy, the market for vintage and antique toys continues to
thrive.   If you're considering investing in this unique niche of nostalgia, begin by thoroughly researching the specific toys that interest you.   Happy Hunting!