Q: Here is the tricycle that I am inquiring about. I would love to know anything you could tell me about it, like how old it is and things like that. It was my grandfather’s and he was born in 1908, and i tried searching for tricycles during that time but I did not find anything similar. Since he is no longer alive I can not ask him any info about it, so I was hoping you could help me. The right back wheel is broken also and I would love to replace it or have it fixed if you could tell me where I might be able to find a wheel or a repair person I would greatly appreciate it.
A: The tricycle was probably not ridden by your grandfather, unless we was a leprechaun. Your tricycle is a Sky Tot and was made by the Junior Toy Company in the late 1930′s. Though it isn’t as old as you had thought, it is probably much more desirable than most all tricycles from 1910.
As far as the back wheel goes…it depends on what is wrong with it. Replacements are hard to find, but not impossible. If you post photos of the broken wheel to the Tricyclefetish Facebook page, we’ll try to help further.
Q: We bought this trike out of an old barn mostly to use as a yard ornament then it occurred to us that maybe it was something worth restoring. Any info even just the brand would be appreciated – Jenny
A: Your tricycle is a 1940′s Junior Toy Co. trike. Probably won’t ever be able to narrow down the age to an exact year without original paint. From the pictures you sent, it looks like all it needs to be functional is a bit of oil and a pair of pedals. To fully restore it you’d need to spend hundreds of dollars. I’m sure there are some toy collectors out there who would cringe at the thought of using it for a lawn ornament. That said, it isn’t a real valuable tricycle, even in nice condition, and I’ve seen some pictures of some tricycles that are really valuable sitting in a flower bed.
Q: I hope that you can help us to identify this tricycle. It has been fully restored and is in excellent condition. The ‘Batwing’ handlebars are reminiscent of the Junior Toy Co. style. Any assistance will be greatly appreciated including a ballpark valuation.
A: Your tricycle was indeed made by the Junior Toy Co. It is from the late 1930′s Sky Line, which was a series of streamlined tricycles of which the Sky King was the top of the line. Your tricycle is referred to as the Sky Knight due to the knight’s mask type head tube design.
As far as value goes, we only give values out to those who’ve purchased our online price guide for a number of reasons. We also don’t really like to give valuations for restored tricycles. It’s so hard to tell from the pictures what kind of job was done. In a 600 pixel wide photo, the tricycle looks perfect, but it may or may not be in real life when you’re standing in front of it. Basically most tricycles are worth more before restoration, unless done by an expert restorer who has used 100% all original parts.
Q: Can you tell me what kind of trike this is? I don’t know the model and year. I can’t find another picture of it anywhere on the web?
One of the photos shows a star inside a circle that is on the trike. I remember my grandmother telling me that it means something when you see it on anything old made of metal, in particular toys.
A: Your tricycle is probably circa mid-1950′s. As far as model name or number goes, that’s not something that you’re going to find unless you have the original AMF catalog from that year, which is going to be especially hard since you don’t know what year it is. The original catalogs are worth as much or more that a lot of the tricycles in the catalogs, and equally or even harder to find. Your tricycle doesn’t have any sort of slang collector name either, it’s just a basic fendered AMF Junior tricycle.
The star inside a circle, to the best of my knowledge, has no special meaning beyond being a logo on AMF tricycles. It is very similar to the old Army logo circa World War II, which also was a star inside a circle. Texaco oil/gas also used a very similar logo.
