Minnesota Farmer

What can I say, I’m a sucker for auctions.  I really don’t need an excuse to go to one, I just love auctions.  Mostly it’s just watching other people buying all of that useless stuff.  Yes, I’ve actually bought some of that useless stuff myself, but not very often.  I usually know what I want to buy and how much I’ll pay.  I had an auctioneer friend tell me once, that I didn’t want  to buy things, I wanted to steal them.  I ask you, what’s so bad about getting a good deal?  Well I got a few things at the last auction I went to that were a bit useless, but are nostalgia for me.  That’s why I bought them.

Last Sunday’s auction was a toy auction which this auctioneer sets up annually.  Usually it takes toys from several people to make the auction big enough, but this one was special since most of it belonged to one man.  In his retirement years he had spent time repairing and customizing toy farm equipment, so not all of it was original, but if you know that you can spend accordingly.  It was a really large auction.

I went hoping to find wind up trains.  They are not easy to find, but I always hope.  No joy, only electrics.  But I stayed to watch and check out the prices on some of the toy tractors.  For a farmer, tractors are a very important tool.  We’ve all had our favorites.  Some folks will be out to collect as many different ones of certain brands as they can.  I only want the ones that were special to me.

A number of years ago I got my collection started with an Allis Chalmers C.  I bought that at a store because it was the first tractor I remember driving.  My Grandfather Julius taught me to cultivate corn on that tractor.  The first toy tractor that caught my eye at this auction was a Ford 8N like I remember at my Grandfather Harry’s farm.  I probably paid a bit more than I should have, but it was the only 8N there.

There was a bit of a dry spell in the auction for me as I bid on things, or let them pass.  Then I saw an International Harvester Feed Grinder.  I spent countless hours grinding feed with a variety of feed grinders as I was growing up.  The animals had to be fed, and we had the raw materials to make feed for them.

I also picked up a John Deere 3010 or 4010 with a roll bar and roof.  It was obviously a repaired toy, but it was the only one with a roof there.  Sometimes you buy them because they are different.

At this time the auction has been going on for over 4 hours.  Some of the buyers have either spent their limit, or have gone home.  The price on the toy tractors has been going down.  Up for auction is a John Deere 4430.  My dad bought a 4430 on a pre-order, John Deere would tell you about them, but would not show you a picture of them.  When he bought it, it was kept covered until release day.  I had to have it, and I thought it went cheap.

The last toy tractor I purchased that day was a John Deere MFWD Row Crop.  This looks enough like the 4630 we had at one time, and the 4650 that we still have, to fit the bill in my collection.  The decal says it’s a 50 series.  It was still in the box, and went cheap enough so I bought it.

Buying at auctions for me is more about the search than the purchase.  I have a few more things I’d like to find, but don’t expect me to be a bidder at every auction I go to.  After all, I really prefer to get a good deal on my purchase.