Still have a few vintage Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toys laying around your (or your parent’s) basement? If so, you might be sitting on a small fortune. Like so many other great toy franchises, this one started with a comic. Back in 1984, Mirage Studios started publishing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic strips as a means of parodying other popular comics. Naturally, Donatello, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Leonardo quickly gained a cult following, and in 1987 Playmates claimed the licensing rights to make the toys. Developed in conjunction with the animated series, the world of TMNT hit the airwaves in the fall of 1987, and kids’ Christmas wish lists would never be the same again.
After 30+ years of fandom, various live-action movies (some good, some terrible), and a handful of different toylines, it’s no surprise that some of the original and more vintage Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toys can fetch a small fortune. Whether it’s because the toys were rare, limited, or made by accident, some of the most valuable Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toys and vehicle sets are worth thousands of dollars today.
How many of these vintage ninja turtles did you have as a kid? Perhaps more importantly, how many do you still own?
Arguably one of the coolest toys of the last few decades, the Turtle Blimp is one of the most expensive and rarest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toys you could possibly find. This one recently sold for a jaw-dropping $8,000. The fact that it was a much rarer Version 2 means that collectors are more willing to pay top dollar. Standard Turtle Blimp playsets often sell for more than $1000 even when they're incomplete, so even if you don't have a rare one, you're still sitting on one of the holy grails of TMNT toys.
A lot of fun variations of the titular turtles have come out over the years. This 1994 Donatello toy came dressed in basketball gear and is still a hot collector's item. Unlike other sports-inspired Turtles toys, this version of Don featured an alternate white jersey. It sold for $3,000 and is an incredibly rare piece, perfect for die-hard Turtles fans. Similar figures often sell for $70 or more, but if you have one in a white jersey, you could be sitting on a small fortune.
It's not just the main Turtles figurines collectors want to get their hands on. Smaller characters, such as Scratch, can still sell for thousands of dollars—even if they're not in mint condition. This particular listing sold for more than $2000 a few months ago. Granted, it's still in its original packaging, which definitely helps increase the resale value.
When you're a teenage mutant ninja turtle, you can't exactly walk around in public without a disguise. Undercover Leonardo from 1994 is a big hit with collectors, as evidenced by this particular listing, in its original packaging, which sold for more than $2,000. Similar action figures have sold for between $1,500 and $1,725. If you have any of the Undercover Turtles, you might want to gather them up and start searching for all those random accessories.
The Turtles' Technodrome can now be yours to own! That is, provided you have more than $2,000 to drop. eBay seller all_things_comics sold their unopened set for more than a mint back in Dec 2019. While opened and used sets often sell for $300 or more, this one was such a high ticket item because it was still packaged in the original box.
This Rocksteady figure came out in 1988 and is part of the 1st release Playmates Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figurines. This action figure doesn't come on the market often, which is why collectors are willing to spend over $1,700 to get it. This particular example was unopened in its original packaging.
