18 Surprisingly Valuable Toys From Our Childhoods

Kasia Mikolajczak
Strawberry Shortcake dolls
instagram | Instagram | @cait__jan

We all have our favorite childhood toys. Am I right? I was pretty obsessed with a few gems back in the day. Honestly, I wish I'd kept all of them because, as it turns out, some of these toys could be worth a little bit of money now, ha,ha. Oh my goodness.

So let's take a look at those childhood playthings that have stood the test of time. Perhaps you have a few of those hidden somewhere in your attic.

Original Furby

Who here had a Furby? Admit it already, haha. I definitely couldn't resist getting one back in the '90s. However, if I held on to it in its original box who knows I could have been able to get like $900 for it. Oh, shucks!

Game Boy Light

I actually never had a GameBoy, but if you did, you probably got rid of it, huh? Well, you shouldn't have. Any mint condition one can fetch hundreds of dollars. And if you have one of their special editions like GameBoy Light, you can end up with as much as $1500 in your back pocket.

Mario Kart 64

Speaking of beloved childhood games, who here loved playing Mario Kart 64? Ah, yes, my nephew was obsessed with it. I secretly wanted to be Yoshi, but then again, who didn't? Hee-hee. Am I right? So get this — a vintage copy of Mario Kart 64 now sells for around $750. Not bad, huh?

Teddy Ruxpin

Here's another toy I've never heard of, lol. What the heck is that? Apparently, this animatronic bear "reads" kids' stories thanks to an audio cassette player built into its back. I guess I was just too old when this came out.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1980s Action Figures

Here's something I never got into. I actually found Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles quite annoying, but so many kids in the '80s loved them. My nephew even dressed up as one of them for Halloween. While the action figures vary in price, you can get anywhere between $550 to $5,000 for mint-condition ones.

Jem and the Holograms Dolls

I absolutely loved playing with dolls as a little girl, but I never got my hands on these Jem and the Holograms Dolls. I actually haven't heard of them — and I didn't watch the cartoon they're based on either. The crazy thing is that now these dolls can go for upwards of $700. Nice, huh?

Boba Fett Action Figure

Boba Fett action figure
instagram | @sidekickmonkeytoys

Now that Star Wars creators have revived the Boba Fett character, it's no wonder the vintage action figure has skyrocketed in price. I mean, Star Wars characters have always been valuable, but this only adds to its overall price. Mint-condition, in-box versions have sold for as much as $5,000.

Strawberry Shortcake Dolls

Just like Cabbage Patch dolls, these Strawberry Shortcake dolls from the '80s were pretty cute, huh? I never owned one, but I can see the appeal, ha, ha. If kept in their original box, these adorable dolls can bring you anywhere between $400 to $600.

Lego Trains

My fiancé was super into Lego when he was a boy. He loved building all sorts of things with those fun blocks. But sadly, he never got one of these amazing train sets. They range from Steam Cargo Trains to Diesel Freight Trains and even High-Speed City Express Trains. Any of them can go between $1,500 and $3,000. Oh, my!

First Edition of 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'

man saying "wow."
Giphy | The Office

Are there any book lovers here? How about Harry Potter? Confession time — I never read the books. I've only seen the movies, ha, ha. But if you happen to own the first edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, I have good news for you. You can get as much as $6,500 for it, and a signed copy can bump that amount up to $15,000. Wowza!

First Edition Barbie

I'm not going to lie, Barbie was one of my favorite toys as a child. In fact, I waited quite some time to get one. However, I wasn't so lucky to get my hands on one of these first editions ones that could net me anywhere between $8,000 to $23,000. Yikes!

Fisher Price's Push Cart Pete

Fisher Price's Push Cart Pete
etsy | Etsy

I don't know about you, but I think this toy is pretty ugly. However, I love the idea of wooden toys for kids. They're just so fun to play with, no? I think there's something unique about that. This one here can fetch upwards of $3,000!

Wun-Dar He-Man

Wun-Dar He-Man
reddit | u/saintdemon21

If your kids ever collected He-Man you might be in luck. This one was a special one that came with the purchase of Wonder Bread in the 1990s. Oh my goodness, ha, ha. Who knew it would be worth around $1000 now?! Wow!

1982 Skeletor Action Figure

Those who loved playing with their He-Man probably opted to get this nemesis Skeletor, huh? Well, you better look in your collection because a mint 1982 edition can fetch you approximately $1500. That's not bad for a one-day job, ha, ha?

Peanut Royal Blue Elephant Beanie Baby

peanut beanie baby
eBay | eBay | KaLisKottage

I don't know if I told you that I used to collect beanie babies. Unfortunately, I never got lucky to find this rare Peanut which came with a darker shade. Get this, only 2000 of them were manufactured, and now because of this color error, it can fetch you as much as $5000.

Garbage Pail Kids Collectable Cards

Okay, I must admit I've never heard of this. I guess this must've been a North American thing, hee-hee. But apparently, the 'Adam Bomb' card can run you upwards of $4000. Holy moly! And if you have a whole set of these cards, even if unremarkable, you can still score up to $700. Isn't that amazing or what?

Magic: The Gathering Card Collections

Let me ask you something, were you into Magic: The Gathering Card Collections? I was not. But now that I see that the collections could be worth a pretty penny today, I wish I had some, hehe. Rare individual cards like the Alpha "Black Lotus" have sold as high as $27,000. Oh my goodness.

Pokémon Trading Cards

I remember when my nephew started collecting Pokémon trading cards. He had a ton of them, ha, ha. So I hope he held on to them because you never know. You could be sitting on a gold mine, lol. A mint-condition Pikachu card recently went on sale for $100,000. OMG!

So do you have any of these gems from the past?

woman saying "holy forking shirt balls."
Giphy | The Good Place

If you happen to hold on to your childhood stuff, you can actually have a few expensive ones in your hands. So run to that attic and check, lol. And come back here to tell us what you found. I'm really interested to know. I wish I kept all my toys but oh well what you're going to do now, huh?