c.1949 Courtland, Mechanical Coal Truck in Original Box
One of the few Courtland mechanical tin litho trucks that I was always unable to locate in high grade with its original box was the No.5100 Mechanical Coal Truck with scissors dumping crank-wind mechanism. This example of that elusive truck grades by far the best I've seen. It works beautifully and comes complete with its original box. Wonderfully lithoed in brilliant red and yellow contrasted colors, and highlighted with black and white details, the toy features a manually wound high-lift, scissors type dumping mechanism, in addition to its clockwork motor. As you wind it a realistic (and loud) clicking sound is produced. The polished steel side supports automatically raise the and position the bed slightly back towards the rear of the truck and at the correct angle. Then lift the aluminum coal door and the aluminum chute nestled inside the bed slides forward through the opening. What a great toy! The cab, trailer, and dump bed are all tin litho. As I mentioned the dump bed lifters are polished steel and the chute components are pressed aluminum. The cab roof is yellow polystyrene plastic. The crank and key-wind are nickel plated cast metal (possibly iron). The black tires are solid rubber. Like all Courtland mechanicals the clockwork motor is removable and has an aluminum housing. The Courtland, Walt Reach trademark is lithoed onto both doors and stamped into the underside of the chassis. Both the dump lifting mechanism and the clockwork motor work great! Like most Courtland boxes there are no illustrations; it's all single color printed text. The corresponding catalog number 5100 appears on both endflaps. It does not have the guarantee certificate. The box is complete and all original. Size: 10½" long. Dump bed raises 7" at its highest point. Sold: Apr. 2009
Price Sold: $ 305
