McDonald's memorabilia fetches €9,000
An 11-year-old boy was more than £8,000 (€9,000) richer today after his collection of memorabilia from fast food chain McDonald’s went under the hammer.
Described as “totally unique”, the collection made between 1990 and 1999 included posters, Happy Meal boxes and toys, as well as limited edition cups and shop-front displays that were never available to the public.
Last night bidders from across the world battled for parts of the 5,000-piece coveted collection – believed to be the largest of its kind in the UK – in a sale at Unique Auctions in Lincoln.
The grand total raised by the auction came in at £8,130 (€9,145), with lots going to buyers from the UK, Germany, and America.
The cash has been pocketed by 11-year-old Luke Underwood, from South Clifton, Nottinghamshire, who has been the proud owner of the collection for four years.
He said he was sad to let go of the hoard but was looking forward to his next big buy.
Auction house owner Terry Woodcock said it had been a great evening, with one man travelling all the way from Hastings just to bid on one item.
He said: “I think we had quite a lot of people there tonight who did absolutely nothing but write down all the prices.
“But we had three good buyers from America, two from Germany, and one or two from the continent, as well as seven or eight in this country.
“It’s quite sad really to see it all split up. I still believe this should be in some form of tourist attraction because young children would have loved to see it.”
Even proud seller Luke agreed he was sad to see his collection go.
Bought for him by father Philip four years ago for just £250 (€281), the family finally decided to let go of the monstrous stash that engulfed their home.
Luke said: “I didn’t really want to sell it but now I’m planning on saving the money so I can buy something else like this and make some money.
“I want to be a businessman when I’m older. I like going to car boot sales with my dad and buying things then selling them for more.
“There was just one bit I really didn’t want to let go of, the .Toy Story. diorama, but maybe I’ll buy it back.”
Mr Underwood, 48, said he and his son first came across the huge collection when he went to buy some diecast models – his own collecting passion – from a man at his home.
He said: “It was all over the house – the front room, the kitchen, the landing.
“Eventually I said to Luke we needed to do something with it.
“We took it to Terry at Unique Auctions and he said he’d give it a go. The response it’s had is amazing.”
Mr Underwood said his son definitely has the makings of a shrewd businessman and added: “Luke’s got quite a knack. I can give him £10 (€11.25) and he can turn it into £20 (€22.50) just like that. The other week he bought a pushbike for £20 (€22.50) and sold it for more than £100 (€112.50).”
