If all this is sounding like it might be a good investment, where do you begin? First, consider the era, for Matchbox has had four owners in its 60 years. Lesney was bought out in 1982 by American company Universal Toys which, as well as changing from the traditional packaging with its individual pictures to packs with generic windows, gradually moved production away from the UK (to date Matchbox cars have been manufactured in England, Hong Kong, Macau, Brazil, Hungary, Bulgaria, China and Thailand). Ten years later Matchbox ownership went to Tyco, a specialist in slot car and radio-controlled vehicles, and then in 1996 Tyco became a division of Mattel which, worryingly for collectors, also owns Hot Wheels. Thankfully – indeed, wisely – Mattel has found a way for the two brands to coexist.