Anybody know where I can have a Marklin train set appraised in southwestern Connecticut? My father purchased the train set when he was stationed in Germany in the 1950’s.
Märklin makes trains since 1880, so it’s fairly impossible to make a value estimation of the set without knowing what it is. h0 has been made since 1950, before that it was 0 gauge.
Ebay in Germany has a lot of advertisements on Märklin, and if you can lay hands on a “Koll’s preiscatalog für Märklin” you have a book like greenberg to estimate. But if it’s a normal starter set in h0 with a 0-6-0 tank engine value will not be high.
The 0 gauge bigger locomotives in good state for their age fetch high prices, and some h0 models, like the crocodile, from the beginning of the h0 market also fetch high prices, but the normal starter sets are made in such quantities that value is nihil. I would simply check european ebay markets since they usually show a big amount of Märklin trains and mostly sell for common prices.
In terms of value you can compare postwar Lionel to Märklin h0, and prewar Lionel to Märklin 0 gauge. Postwar scouts have about the same value as starterset engines made by märklin in h0. It can give you a global idea of the value of the set.
Time Machine Hobby in Manchester, CT. is a Marklin dealer. Perhaps they can help?
http://www.timemachinehobby.net/
Hope this helps.