Gallery: The 50 Coolest Matchbox Cars

You can thank Queen Elizabeth II for the birth of one of your favorite all-time toys. Back in 1953, the British toy company Lesney Products unveiled a miniature model of Her Majesty's coronation coach to the masses—and it was an absolute hit. A couple months later, one of the company's co-founders made an even smaller version of that miniature model for his daughter, because she was allowed to bring only toys with her to school that fit inside of—you guessed it—a matchbox. Thus, the Matchbox brand was officially born.

Since then—in spite of some serious competition from Hot Wheels—there have been thousands of different Matchbox cars produced and sold. And at around this time every year, millions of little boys (and even some little girls) include Matchbox cars on their Christmas wish lists. So with that in mind, we put together a list of 50 classic Matchbox cars. All hail the Queen! Because without her, these cool car creations wouldn't have been possible.

Complex Says: It's certainly not the prettiest Matchbox car ever created. But it was the first. This Matchbox—which included a driver as part of the cast—was released in 1953. Every other car on this list owes something to this, regardless of the fact that it's not necessarily the most attractive Matchbox.

Complex Says: Like the '53 Aveling, this tractor came cast with a driver on it. Fortunately, Matchbox started including more than just farm equipment in its collection shortly after this one dropped. But we can appreciate what the company was trying to do here.

Complex Says: This is more like it! The Matchbox tractors were cool and all. But when we got behind the wheel of a Matchbox car, we wanted to drive something a little, er, manlier. And this fit that description perfectly.

Complex Says: This is one of those Matchbox cars that we wish we could turn into a real car for a day. Couldn't you picture yourself cruising around in this thing? The diecast metal frame mixed with the bright red paint made this Matchbox pop.

Complex Says: Can you imagine if Matchbox made a Range Rover today? It'd probably cost $700. Back in the day, though, it was a rugged, no-frills automobile designed to get you around. And this Matchbox represented that perfectly.

Complex Says: WTF is an Iso Grifo? Well, if you're unfamiliar with it, it's an Italian ride that was produced from 1963 and 1974, meant to compete with the Chevy Corvette. It obviously failed. But we did get a sleek Matchbox car out of it.

Complex Says: The gray plastic wheels used on this Coca-Cola-branded Matchbox were a first for the company. They've also helped the resale price of these trucks go up over the years.

Complex Says: The ice cream man is cooooooommmmmmmiiiiiiinnnnnnnggggggg! And he's driving in a pretty crazy Matchbox truck.

Complex Says: Once upon a time, there was no SportsCenter. There was no CNN. Hell, there was no Internet! So, you had to get your news from a local TV station that operated out of a truck like this one. That's the cool thing about a lot of the older Matchbox trucks. They have a story to tell.

Complex Says: From the beginning, Matchbox has been focused on creating more than just cars. Need proof of that? Then look no further than this lime-green hovercraft. We only wish we could get behind the wheel of one of these things in real life.

Complex Says: We couldn't make a list like this without including at least one military-themed Matchbox car. And this one just so happens to be one of our favorites. From the replaceable treads to the large cargo area, this thing was a tank—without actually being, well, a tank.

Complex Says: The sea-green color of this Matchbox car isn't very attractive. But without it, this particular car isn't worth as much as it is with it. In fact, because Matchbox manufactured so few of these cars in the color sea-green, you could get around $9,000 today if you happen to get your hands on one. I bet it looks a whole lot better to you now, huh?

Complex Says: Forget what this thing has under the hood. How about what it has pouring out of it? This thing had plenty of muscle—and it showed!

Complex Says: ERF was a British truck company that was popular during the middle of last century. So it should come as no surprise that Matchbox chose to feature it in its '59 lineup. And this thing was perfect for transporting one of your other Matchbox cars around.

Complex Says: This Harley's copper paint job definitely made it stand out from some of the less-shiny Matchbox cars that were produced back in the 1960s. And the sidecar was a nice touch that made it easy to keep this bike in motion.

Complex Says: Okay, okay. So it's not as flashy as the Fiat that J. Lo is driving these days (no Gucci interior here!). But the turquoise color and the ride-along baggage strapped to the top of this make it different from most other Matchbox cars out there.

Complex Says: Not only did this Matchbox provide a place for you to store a stable of horses. It provided the horses, too! Nice touch, Matchbox.

Complex Says: What do we have to do to get one of these to pick us up in New York City today?

Complex Says: This truck is garbage! No, really, it is. Back in the day, garbage trucks were called refuse trucks and they weren't the monstrosities that they are today. Case in point: This "Cleansing Service" Matchbox truck that actually looks a lot nicer than it probably was.

Complex Says: Matchbox has offered a number of different kinds of trailers over the years. And if you buy a Matchbox that has a hitch on the back, you can actually tow the trailers around. This particular trailer came with a Honda bike on it, though. So you could leave the trailer at home and hit the road on two wheels.

Complex Says: Holy shit are Matchbox cars old! Horse-drawn milk floats?! That shit's cray! But we imagine it was pretty cool for kids to play with these back in the '50s. The attention to detail was pretty crazy, too.

Complex Says: Now, this is a little more like it! Almost a decade after hitting us with the horse-drawn milk float, Matchbox got with the times and introduced a milk truck instead. We won't front—this was NOT the first car we ran to when we used to play with our Matchboxes. But it's a unique piece that captured the times.

Complex Says: Doesn't this look like something straight out of a 1950s gangster flick?

Complex Says: This truck had a lot going on. From the dumper on the back to the detachable plow on the front, you could actually take care of a number of tasks when you were playing with this. It's like two trucks for the price of one.

Complex Says: Tiger style! This style of bus was popular in Europe years ago. And it was immortalized in the 1960s when it received its very own Matchbox replica. It looks like it'd be a nightmare to be trapped on one of these things for hours at a time. But that doesn't take anything away from its unique design.

Complex Says: This thing is heavy-motherfuckin'-duty! It had to be to carry all those beams strapped, er, rubber-banded to the back of it.

Complex Says: When Matchbox created a new vehicle, it spared no expense to make sure that it included all the moving parts to make the car look as realistic as possible. You see that here with the treads that were included on this snow tractor.

Complex Says: The working crane on this thing was clutch. Perfect for picking up other Matchbox cars and flinging 'em across the room. What more can we say?

Complex Says: This is about as basic as Matchbox got when it came to sports cars. And the tires the company used when this car was created were still pretty "eh." But this has to be somewhere in your collection if you're collecting early Matchbox cars.

Complex Says: Every little boy dreams about driving something like this when he grows up. Matchbox gave millions of little boys the chance to live out their dreams by "driving" these all over the living room floor.

Complex Says: For the record, it's still 'Eff BP!' around these parts. We don't care how many commercials it does about the Gulf. But that doesn't make this oil tanker any less impressive.

Complex Says: No. 19 to match the No. 19, ya dig? But seriously: This car paid homage to Aston's race car and did so very well. If you can find one, there's also another Aston race car that's a bit rarer, with the No. 52 on the side of it. Your finder's fee? Somewhere in the range of 500 bucks. Look fast!

Complex Says: The Hoveringham Gravel Company was opened in England in 1939, and it was famous for using a gigantic logo across the side of all its equipment. This particular truck could haul as much gravel as you could give it—or whatever else you wanted to throw in the back of it.

Complex Says: Like fast cars? Then you'll love this. It's small. It's sleek. And it looks like it could take just about any of the other cars listed here off the line.

Complex Says: The best Matchbox cars are the ones with movable parts that actually serve a purpose. We're talking about ladders, cranes, and lifts like the one on this old-school tow truck. The fun never ends when you're playing with one of these things.

Complex Says: We're not saying that we'd ever drive a pink-and-lilac car in real life. But if we did, we imagine it looking a whole lot like this.

Complex Says: We'll admit that some of the most recent fire trucks in the Matchbox collection are a whole lot prettier than this one. But most of them don't look like tanks, as this one does. And the working ladders on these things made them that much more fun to play with.

Complex Says: This truck is cool enough on its own. But if you can manage to find one with amber windows, instead of green ones, you've struck it rich. Those can fetch up to $2,000, because the amber windows were used only on the first version of the wreck truck, using a batch of leftover parts from the pre-production models.

Complex Says: The most successful Matchbox cars are also the blandest. In real life, this wouldn't be the first car you'd pick to drive in the rental lot, right? However, kids love these kinda cars, which is why Matchbox has kept some variant of the Ford pickup in its lineup for so many years.

Complex Says: It's fun to eff shit up with your Matchbox trucks. But what happens when you crash two of them together and you need some medical assistance? Well, for starters, you send this thing in. And then you pray that you didn't have to lay a make-believe body in the back of it.

Complex Says: In 1956, Matchbox decided that it wanted to start showing respect to classic vehicles by introducing a line of cars called "The Models of Yesteryear." This was one of the first ones that was introduced and, obviously, it paid homage to one of the most important vehicles of all-time.

Complex Says: When you played with your Matchbox cars, you picked up something like this dumper and got busy. It has two huge rear tires and a large cabin, and it worked just like an actual dump truck. This thing was serious.

Complex Says: We featured an ambulance earlier. So you knew a police car had to be coming, too, right? If you find one of these in the right condition today, you could easily get anywhere from 500 bucks to a G for it.

Complex Says: Advertising for Matchbox...on the side of a Matchbox? Genius!

Complex Says: By 1960, Matchbox was manufacturing more than just cars that fit inside of matchboxes. The company also unleashed a new collection called the "King Size" series. It featured a handful of larger vehicles, including this gigantic truck that could practically hold your entire Matchbox collection.

Complex Says: Look out! This thing was designed to flatten anything in its path. And like a lot of the early Matchbox cars, it featured a driver, too. This is an absolute must-have for any collection, especially since it features the Caterpillar name.

Complex Says: In 1980, Matchbox started suffering some stiff competition from fellow toy manufacturer Mattel, which introduced its own Hot Wheels line of cars. These cars were painted in bright colors, made to look faster than most of the stuff Matchbox had out. So Matchbox responded by creating a lineup of "Superfast" cars like this Dodge Challenger. It helped save the company.

Complex Says: Is this a car you'd like to drive? Probably not. But it's easily the most popular Matchbox car of all-time. Hundreds of different companies have used it to promote their products. You could amass an entire collection of Matchbox cars and only include Model A Fords, and you'd be good to go. So while you might not want this van in your garage, it's a Matchbox that, like it or not, simply has to be part of your collection.

Complex Says: Different car models have come and gone in the Matchbox lineup every year. The company releases only 75 new cars every year, so it has to switch things up often to keep the collections looking fresh. However, the Shovel Nose Tractor has become a staple. It's been included in every lineup of Matchboxes since 1976. And judging by the looks of things, it's not going anywhere anytime soon.

Complex Says: If you're a serious Matchbox collector, the red Vauxhall Victor is most likely the crowned jewel of your collection. In good condition, it's the most valuable Matchbox car out there and can command up to $10,000 at auction. It costs so much because the Vauxhall Victor was originally painted red until the Matchbox owners decided to switch to yellow after the initial production of the car. Therefore, there aren't many of these in existence, making them a Matchbox collector's wet dream. If you happen to come across one, you can probably get enough loot out of it to get a real car. Go figure.