Q:  I received a metal ballet dancer toy for Christmas about 1935. It has a weighted skirt, and when you insert a metal rod into the bottom of the skirt and pull it quickly, it spins like a top for quite a while. A round logo and the words “Made in U.S.A. New York” are stamped on the back. There is some paint loss on her face and arms. I’d like to sell it. How much is it worth? 

A:  This spinning ballet dancer was made by Louis Marx & Co. of New York. The company was founded in 1919. It was the world’s largest toy company in the 1940s and ’50s. It was sold to Quaker Oats in 1972. The Marx line became part of Dunbee-Combex-Marx, a British company, in 1975. Some Marx toys were made at factories in the United States until 1980, when the company went bankrupt and Marx trademarks, molds and other assets were sold. Your 80-year-old toy with some paint loss is worth about $100 to $150.