Collectible antique toy soldier type of toy of a male walking carrying a coat over one arm. His other hand is slightly curved upwards in a manner that makes us think that he might originally have been meant to be carrying something in this hand, too, such as a briefcase or a suitcase. He might have originally come with something to carry but when we got him from an older home they only had the figure and not anything he would have carried. On the underside are multiple raised letters some of which are clearer or more there than others. You can clearly see "France" in large letters along one end with one or two other lighter strikings of the word "France" nearby, so this figure was made in France. There are also the letters "DE" and part of a "P" which we believe are part of the french word "depose" which means registered (as in a copyrighted or registered design), and the letters "CS" or "GS" (we're not sure which...).

We don't know if he was originally sold as a figure to be used with a train set or a village display (such as a Christmas village or Christmas scene display) or as part of some other old toy set or scene. He is definitely an old, antique or vintage piece, although we don't know his exact age (we are not toy dealers and just describe what we see). He is definitely made of a cast metal which we believe could be lead from similar pieces we've handled and seen. As such, we will only sell this piece to adult collectors, it should be handled with care and it should not be given to children to play with due to concerns with lead exposure.

The man stands about 2 1/4 inches tall, 1 inch wide and 3/4 inches in depth at the base. There is a tiny hole on the top of his head, which we believe was made in manufacture, from separating him from the mold in which he was made. We have provided 7 images to try and show from all sides and details for condition purposes, with the figure also shown with a quarter for size comparison. Please note that the white "hot spots" are reflections from the camera lighting. This lighting makes his coloring seem a little bit lighter & brighter than it is in person. When you first put him down on a table he "wobbles" slightly before settling into place because the relatively square base on which he stands/walks is not flat and curves slightly. You can also see in the images that he leans to one side a little bit or is slightly slanted, as someone could be when walking over uneven ground. We don't know if this is how he was made or whether his base and he were slightly bent over time.

A very nice piece but he does show his age and wear, and is not mint. There are no chips or breaks that we see. There is paint wear, paint chipping/flaking but somewhat less than what we often see. There is paint wear on his face, hat, and body/clothing with the gray base metal showing through in spots. The bright camera lighting may "bland out" some of the paint wear making some of it hard to see, but a "rough" guess would be that 80%+ of his paint is still there. The paint looks original to us, he does not appear to have been repainted. There is also wear and indented areas to the underside base on which the piece stands. We are selling this as is/as found. None of this is unexpected for an antique piece like this and supports its age.

A great addition for a collectors group of small vintage toy figures. Could be incorporated into an older train set or diorama or other display dealing with American life in general.

Please note that we have many other lead toys listed separately for sale. If you wish to purchase more than one, please e-mail us before placing the order since the shipping information has been inputted for a purchase of just one and will not calculate the savings you would get when purchasing more than one shipped together in the same package (we will need to handle this for you).