1955 Tonka Frederick & Nelson Private Label Metro Van
According to Tonka historian Lloyd Laumann, approximately 5,000 Frederick & Nelson metros were manufactured in 1955 only. The entire quantity
was comlpeted in one production run. Frederick & Nelson was a division of Marshall Field & Company.
The Frederick & Nelson metro featured in the last row is believed to have been in Tonka's archive before being owned by a former Tonka
employee. The metro was subsequently sold to another collector who, in turn, sold at it at auction in April 2004 for $5500 USD. It is unknown why the
extra decal is affixed above the right front tire. There are very few known examples of the Frederick & Nelson metro. Not enough to determine if
the extra coat of arms decal was only on the archive example versus those that went into actual production for the store in Seattle, Washington.
Thanks to Richard Gresh for this information.
Value: A clean, original, untouched metro on very good plus condition, missing one wheeelcover, front bumper pushed in, numerous scratches, decals
in good condition, sold on eBay for $1058 USD in late March 2009.
Very difficult to find 1955 Frederick & Nelson metro van. Notice the metro's color is the same as on the
Marshall Field & Company metro. Note too the coat of arms is also the same.
