I would like to share some new discoveries with you. 2 Ferris Wheels you may not have ever seen before!

How cool are these? The first is a chain Chein! Appparently produced by Chein for the "NIFTY" line of toys, such as FELIX The Cat was. Sorry for the poor quality of the picture, but if you look closely, you can see a silver lever on the left and in back. ( I am trying to get a picture of the other side also). The lever activates a chain, you can see it going up the middle toward the clown's face. The lever & chain made the ferris wheel rotate when the lever was moved. Under the clown's face-His real name is The Steeplechase Man-is written NIFTY. Further down the A frame is written FERRIS WHEEL. The gondolas are very much identical to the ones found on the Chein ferris wheels. There is a male ticket taker standing under the ENTRANCE and not found on the Chein ferris wheel are the words Tickets 10C. Also not found on the Cheins are the awnings above the 2 vendors who sell, what else? HOT DOGS and ORANGEADE.

The second picture is that of 9" high Ferrris wheel that is marked with the early Chein logo above where it reads FERRIS WHEEL. This dates it to the 1910's-1920's. It was a wind up toy & I am trying to find out more about what type of mechanism was used. At this point I am just happy to have the pictures and to be able to add these to my guide.

Fraudulent listings occur nearly every week for these valuable antique toys. Some are mistakes while others are intentional. I hope to provide the info that will help you identify the true facts about the Coney Island series. Buyers, if you have any questions about a Chein ride toy please message me. Sellers, if you want to make sure you are listing your Chein ride toy correctly please message me.

ROLLER COASTERS AND THEIR CORRECT BOXES

             1949-1963                                 1964-1968                              1969-1972

ROLLER COASTER  First produced in 1949. Has a red & yellow stone base, orange tracks and a big side show on the front. Vendors sell salt water taffy, hot dogs, shooting gallery, etc. The cars have wings on their sides. Many people claim their toy is from the 1930's. Not so.

1964 A complete new lithograph with the tracks now red & white. Vendors sell hot dogs, cotton candy, popcorn, etc. 2 duck ponds are on the inside base. The cars had the wings removed from their sides. Here you need to know the logos. On the sidewalk there will be a shield logo for the earlier versions, and Playthings for the final versions. Both versions will have another logo, a shield under the ticket taker's booth, but it's what is on the sidewalk that makes the difference. Many people claim their toy is from the 1950's. Not so. The Ski Ride and Disney Coaster are 2 other versions, and much more rare.

1930'S & 1950'S FERRIS WHEELS

       1930's front                                   1950's front 

FERRIS WHEEL It is a 1930's if the background is orange, the ticket taker is male, the vendors sell hot dogs and orangeade, and the side litho is a freak show. It is a 1950's version if the background is blue, the ticket taker is female, the vendors sell giant franks and frozen custard, and the side litho is a trained seal and hula dancers. Many people list their 1950's ferris wheel as a 1930's to get more money for it. Beginning in the 1960's, the ferris wheel was made with only 4 spokes and gondolas, and is much more rare. A Disney version also exists and is more rare.

Merry Go Round First produced in the early 1950's with a red base with the key wind on the side. The Chein logo appears on the top of the base. Later produced with a blue base and the key wind on top. Many people claim their red based version is the most rare. However,  the blue base is the most rare, and is worth more. No Chein logo exists on the blue base version. The merry go round also got scaled back in the 1960's and the swans were removed from the base, and are much more rare than the first version.

Musical Mechanical Aeroplane Whirler 1937. This is a very elusive toy and often incorrectly identified, due to the different versions made. Came before the Aero Swing and used 3-5 small airplanes to swing around the tower. This is an ultra rare toy.

Musical Mechanical Aero Swing 1940's-early 1950's and rare. The earlier versions have a flag on the top. The middle version had a tin cap on top. The later versions just have a plastic cap. Flag versions are worth more. Chein used the same gondolas as the ferris wheel for this ride. No Chein logos appear on any aero swings.

Ride A Rocket 1952. Chein shield logo appears on the top of the base. 4 celluloid propellers were added to the otherwise all tin ride. Extremely rare if all propellers are in tact. 2 versions are known to exist. The tall 18 1/2" version and the final, ultra rare 10" version.

Whip 1953 and very rare. Chein logos appear on most, but not all whips. This was never a huge seller so the whip ride is very hard to get ahold of.

Musical Mechanical Space Ride 1958. This is an extremely rare J Chein rides toy. This ride replaced the Aero Swing. The gondolas were changed to rockets, and the litho has a space theme. 3 or 4 rockets were used, but the box always shows 4.

Chein Ultra Rare Coney Island Series Toys

1. The No. 265 Musical Mechanical Aeroplane Whirler. Even Alan Jaffe who wrote the guide on Chein toys could not find a true Aeroplane Whirler, and used a 1937 Chein catalogue picture instead. 4 planes flew around a hub decorated with a patriotic theme. I have seen a few different versions, but never this exact ride. The different versions include 3 airplanes that fly around a thinner hub than what is pictured, and the hub has stars on it. The canopy is decorated in orange, yellow, and blue and has a draped decorative curtain look close to the outer perimeter of the canopy. One is lever activated and one is key wound. The boxes however, are marked as a No. 165, and one has the word musical on it while the other box does not. Neither of these 2 toy versions have a musical sound. Another version has 4-5 airplanes, and looks exactly like the Aero-Swing. I have never seen a box surface for this variation. I know of no box for any version of a No. 265 Aeroplane Whirler.

(The next 2 pictures had to be removed because there is a limit of 10 and I added the 2 new Ferris wheel picures above. Should you have an interest about the next 2 toys, and would like a picture, message me through eBay or email).

2. No. 260 2nd version Ride A Rocket. This is another ultra rare ride toy. This one isn't even mentioned or pictured in Alan Jaffe's Chein guide, or any other toy guide that I have seen. The 1st version of the Ride A Rocket is a massive 18 1/2" tall monster ride. 4 rockets with celluloid propellers fly around a hub decorated with a ticket seller on each side who is holding up a cane. In the early 1960's, J. Chein Co. began scaling back the ride toys as the demand decreased for tin toys because of plastic toys. The ferris wheel dropped from 6 gondolas to 4. The merry go round had the swans removed. And the Ride A Rocket was reduced to approximately 10" tall. Chein integrated the base and hub of the Aero Swing, and the canopy and rockets of the Space Ride to create this version of the Ride A Rocket. An entire new lithograph was added, including a new man selling tickets to children now for 20 cents, and a return to the earlier circus theme with clowns decorating the canopy was revised. The 1958 Space Ride was out of production, and Chein used the identical rockets for their newer Rocket Ride. As with the 4 gondola ferris wheel, the merry go round without swans, this new Rocket Ride was short lived. Very, very few of these were made, and they are considered one of the "Holy Grails" of the Coney Island toys. I have only seen 2 of these versions.

3. No. 385 2nd version, white base Playland Merry Go Round. It is hard enough just to find the scaled down version of the Playland Merry Go Round, without the swans. However, this version with a white floor with red stripes is ultra rare. You can expect to see the familiar yellow/orange floor with red stripes on most of these 2nd version merry go rounds. This white and red floor version interestingly came in a white box. I have seen only 2 of these white floored merry go rounds, and only one box. The J Chein Co. at this time was feeling the tremendous competition that the new plastic toy companies were applying. Children were no longer content with a toy that just went around in circles. New companies emerged and presented children with plastic toys that lit up, made noises, and were much more interactive than winding a key and watching. In 1964, Chein gave their biggest seller, the Roller Coaster, a whole new look, and managed to squeeze 8 more years out of it before ending its reign. But by the early 1960's, the majority of the J Chein Coney Island series amusement park ride toys, had all been retired. Thus creating a collector's market for these old tin wind ups in either a rare, very rare, extremely rare, and ultra rare categories.

Message me if you ever need additional help, or have questions regarding Chein toys. I hope this guide helps take you through the various years, types, and versions of the many Coney Island Series toys that were made by Chein. From the more common to the ultra rare, collecting the amusement park rides can be great fun.

1/31/07 Here is an excellent website about Chein toys. ( I can't string the full link...it disappears.) You will have to copy & paste it, then adjust it in your browser.

h ttp: // collectibles(dot)about(dot)com / weekly / blchein2(dot) htm            

         My guide has resulted in dozens of messages from sellers who all refer to O'Briens/Korbeck/Stearns/Stephan, etc. Toys & Prices Guide Book which list the Chein roller coaster as a 1938 and a 1950's. It would take me a week to list all the errors in this book, so I am just going to mention a few as they relate to Chein. This guide states that the Ohio Arts ferris wheel -The Giant Ride - from the 1950's, is a 1930's Chein. (Didn't get the decade or company correct). Nobody would argue that the Chein whip and merry go round were produced in the 1950's, nobody that is except the guide book that dates them to the 1930's. And the most insane mistake of them all is the guide book listing the Chein Disneyland ferris wheel and roller coaster as being from 1946, yet there wasn't even a Disneyland until 1955!