Singapore's Mint Museum of Toys: Home of Antique Toys

Singapore's Mint Museum of Toys

Did you know that there’s a toy museum in Singapore just behind the Raflles Hotel? It’s called the Mint Museum of Toys. I thought it’s called “Mint” because the toys were in mint condition. Haha… Apparently, MINT stands for “Moment of Imagination and Nostalgia with Toys”.

According to Wikipedia, the museum houses more than 3,000 toys and childhood memorabilia from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century (some online articles though cite that it contains 50,000 toys – not sure which figure is correct). Anyway, they are from the personal toy collection of a Singaporean named Chang Ya Fa.

On the day we went, it was a period of celebration since it was Mickey Mouse’s birth month. He was born on Nov 18, 1928 making him 82 years old this 2014!

So in celebration of Mickey’s birth month, the Mint Museum was giving 25% discount if you had any Mickey Mouse item with you. Unfortunately, not one of us had! Haha… But we were still able to avail of a discount because the museum and the hotel we were staying in had some kind of partnership.

The museum has 4 or 5 levels where you start from the topmost part. Each level showcases a different toy genre (the toys are not arranged chronologically but more theme-based e.g. robots, stuff toys, superheroes, etc.).

Below are some interesting finds in the museum - some of them you probably played with as a kid. I never had branded toys when I was a kid so I didn’t see any of my old toys in the museum. Haha…. But I am familiar with most of the characters because I watched a lot of TV as a kid and it was surprising to find out that some of the characters we thought were of our generation actually existed even before we were born.

Robots from the 1930s and 1940s

Spaceship from the 1940s -1960s

Sparky Robot

Did you notice the tag?  This robot's value is worth USD15,000! Whoa...

Astroboy!  Love, love, love!

James Bond

Star Wars-themed Mickey and Minnie

Antique Barbie dolls

Smurfs

Batman - check out how the bat mobile looked like before!  

The inspiration behind Alice in Wonderland

As you can see in the background, there's a certification by Sotheby's.   This doll is called the Alice doll and it was once owned by Alice Liddell (1852-1934) who was the inspiration behind Alice in Wonderland.   According to Wikipedia, Alice asked Lewis Carroll (the author of the children's classic) to tell her a story while on a boating trip in Oxford.

The Avengers first ever comic issue.

I wonder what year it was printed because it only says September 1 on the issue.

Godzilla comicbook

Popeye, Olive Oyl and Wimpy!

I took hundreds of photos but I just can't upload them since my internet connection in the province is a bit spotty and slow.

Anyway, I had fun going through all the toys.  Seeing toys from the 1900s to the 1960s was also fascinating for me as it gave me a glimpse on what kind of toys and protagonists were in the market at the time when my grandparents and my parents were kids.

If you love toys and characters, you might want to check out the Mint Museum of Toys next time you’re in Singapore.

And if you were still able to stack away your childhood toys, you might want to preserve them as they might be worth a fortune decades from now. :)