The most expensive porcelain doll
Cost: $ 263,000
At the beginning of the XX century, one of the most popular puppeteers was considered a native of France, Albert Marche. In 1915, an exhibition of his dolls took place in Paris, which thundered throughout Europe. The collection consisted of hundreds of copies, some of which were immediately sold out. The rest were put in boxes and hidden in the hope of preserving until better times. However, experts say that only twenty dolls have survived to this day, whose value now amounts to tens, or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Rare porcelain beauties are fiercely hunted: wealthy lovers of old toys sleep and see how to get one of them in their collection. The most expensive creation of Albert Marche was sold in 2009 at Theriault's in Atlanta.

The most expensive soldier
Cost: $ 200,000
In the 1960s, Hasbro launched a line of toy soldiers that could move their arms and legs, and indeed looked very realistic. The soldiers were named by the common name GI Joe. Behind the abbreviation GI was the phrase “Government Issued” borrowed from American military jargon. The soldier Joe gained great popularity among the boys and became the hero of comics and cartoons. His image was transformed depending on the current military conflicts, but toys from the very first parties always evoked reverence. In 2003, comic book sales agent Stephen Geppy became the proud owner of the prototype Soldier Joe, a thirty-centimeter figure in the hand-sewn uniform of an infantry sergeant.

The most expensive rocking horse
Cost: $ 1.28 million
The birth of a son in the family of Prince Akishino in Japan was celebrated as a national holiday: a charming boy instantly became a favorite of the whole country. To mark this momentous event, jewelry house Ginza Tanaka made a precious rocking horse, which took about thirty kilograms of gold to create. True, the toy was not very convenient to handle: in order to drag it from one place to another, the child needed the help of adults. On the other hand, the manufacturer claimed that the golden horse swings more gently than its wooden counterparts. Representatives of the imperial family reacted to the original gift without enthusiasm: despite universal adoration, Prince Hisahito has been trying to instill modesty and moderation since childhood.

The most expensive toy ship
Cost: $ 109,675
They say what you call a boat - so it will sail. Apparently, employees of the German toy manufacturer Märklin anticipated that the HMS Terrible ship they had assembled in 1905 would subsequently be sold for a monstrous amount. It is a copy of the combat steam ship, which was part of the Royal Navy of Great Britain and was used during the Second Boer War. The toy for a long time belonged to the famous collector Ron McCrindell. After his death in 2011, the ship was put up for auction and was soon bought for an amount approximately one and a half times higher than the auctioneers' expectations. The name of the new owner of “Terrible” is unknown: the buyer wished to reserve the right to anonymity.

The most expensive Barbie doll
Cost: $ 302,500
What Mattel never invented to draw attention to his products! Over the years, Barbie princesses, Barbie mermaids, Barbie with movie stars and even Barbie zombies appeared in toy stores. In 2010, a line of dolls called “Little Black Dress” was presented to the public. Her star was Barbie in an exclusive diamond necklace from Australian jeweler Stefano Canturi. He worked on the outfit, hairstyle and makeup of the plastic style icon. After the grand presentation in Sydney, the doll went to New York, straight to Christie's auction. It was expected that she would go under the hammer for $ 600,000, but the real amount was more modest. All proceeds went to the Breast Cancer Research Fund.

Teddy's most expensive bear
Cost: $ 2.1 million
Teddy bears became fashionable at the beginning of the 20th century after American newspapers reported that President Theodore Roosevelt refused to shoot a hunted teddy bear during a hunt. The toy quickly became a collectible: for those who collected Teddy bears, they even came up with a special name - arctophiles (from the Greek "arctos" - a bear). The obsession with clubfoots went so far as that in 2000, the German company Steiff released the Teddy bear in an outfit coined by Louis Vuitton brand designers. The bear in an elegant coat was auctioned off at a thematic auction in Monaco and bought by Korean businessman Jesse Kim. Today, the toy takes pride of place in the exhibition of the Teddy Bears Museum in the South Korean city of Jeju.

According to statistics, 40 million motorists from around the world grew up on Hot Wheels toy cars, whose name literally translates as "Hot Wheels". In 2008, in order to celebrate its fortieth anniversary, the brand released a unique little car decorated with a scattering of precious stones. 2,700 white, blue and black diamonds weighing 23 carats densely covered the case in white gold and tiny wheels. At the same time, the toy itself could easily fit in the palm of a child. The American pop singer Nick Lachey presented the car, and its design was developed by the Jason of Beverly Hills jewelry house, led by Jason Arasheben. In an interview, Arasheben admitted that working with Hot Wheels returned him to his childhood.

The most expensive mechanical toy
Cost: $ 6.25 million
15,000 hours it took the Swiss Christian Bailly to assemble a mechanical doll worth several million dollars from 2340 parts. A boy dressed in silk is able to play the flute, from the sounds of which the birds sitting on his arm and shoulder start to move and begin to sing. The doll received the corresponding name - Birds. Her height is 120 cm, weight - 55 kg. Bayi decided not to deviate from the traditions laid down in past centuries: even his workshop was named after Jacob Friesard, who in the 17th-18th centuries became famous for creating mechanical songbirds. That is why the mechanism hidden under Ptitselov’s luxurious outfit works without electricity: it’s enough to start it with a key.

The most expensive toy train
Cost: $140,197
When Christie's auction experts got into the hands of the train, released in 1906 by Märklin, they suggested that it was not intended for games, but in order to decorate a store window and attract customers. A child could fit on the roof of the engine, and the whole length reached three and a half meters. One of the cars was set aside for a restaurant with a veranda, and the chimney blew real smoke. The first owners of the train were the American Gardiner family: they purchased a luxury toy before the outbreak of World War I. After almost a century, one of the heirs of the family decided to part with the train and transported it to London, rightly believing that the heirloom would cause great excitement among European collectors.

The most expensive dollhouse
Cost: $ 500,000
If aristocrats were to be found among the toys, they probably would have liked the dollhouse on display at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. More precisely, not even a house, but a real fairytale castle three meters high. It was commissioned by Colin Moore - the famous silent movie actress. Almost seven hundred masters — artists, wood carvers, jewelers, glass-blowers — had a hand in its creation. One of the murals was made by Walt Disney himself. The castle consists of twelve collapsible parts, which hold a total of more than two thousand items, including tiny golden candelabra and antique vases. By the way, the last time the cost of this masterpiece was estimated back in 1947, and it is possible that since then it has increased significantly.