1900 Coca-Cola serving tray featuring the soft drink company’s first model, Hilda Clark; 9½ in. diameter. Est. $2,000-$3,500. Morphy Auctions image.

DENVER, Pa. – More than 2,000 lots of antique toys, trains, advertising and rare comics are primed and ready to make their appearance Feb. 9-11 in Morphy Auctions’ first sale of 2012. All forms of bidding will be available, including live via the Internet, with start times set for 10 a.m. on Thursday and Friday, and 9 a.m. for the Saturday session.

The fun begins with 350+ lots of Coca-Cola and other soda pop advertising. Highlights include a 1929 Orange Crush calendar with full pad, est. $700-$1,200; a 1900 Coca-Cola serving tray, $3,000-$4,000; and a complete set of 10 original Coca-Cola advertising pocket mirrors from the years 1906-1916. The set is expected to fetch $1,800-$2,500.

Following the soda pop section, there will be 150 general advertising lots, including an Ingraham Hills Liver Ticker reverse-on-glass clock with the image of a pretty girl, $3,000-$4,000; and a small grouping of dye cabinets, including examples promoting Peerless Dyes and Diamond Dyes.

Plaster Penfold smoking golfer advertising figure, 1930s. Est. $800-$1,200. Morphy Auctions image.

After a very successful initial outing in December at Morphy’s, part two of an advanced collection of advertising figures will cross the auction block, together with additional consignments of comparable quality. In all, there are approximately 100 lots of figures produced from the 1920s to 1950s.

“There’s a tremendous variety,” said Morphy Auctions associate Mike Karberg. “Any product you can imagine is included, from alcoholic beverages and sporting goods to clothing, food and consumer goods.”

Highlights include an extremely rare Mr. All-American Hot Dog figure advertising Jordan’s Franks, estimate: $1,000-$2,000. Also in the collection are four figural advertising pieces featuring Esquire magazine’s dapper mascot, Esky. From a different consignor comes a 1940s composition advertising figure depicting the “Kelvinator (Refrigerators) Lady.” Estimate: $800-$1,200.

The Friday session includes 50+ pressed-steel toys (e.g., Keystone, Buddy ‘L’) and 150 tin wind-up and battery-operated toys, with many key items from Marx and Linemar. A clean Buck Rogers Rocket Fighter in its original box, a Schuco teddy bear on scooter and a desirable boxed Batman battery op are among the top lots. A single-owner collection of approximately 80 Howdy Doody toys will be offered, as well.

1966 battery-operated walking Batman toy, tin with vinyl head and original cloth cape, original box. Est. $4,000-$8,000. Morphy Auctions image.

More than 150 European wind-up toy lots span automotive, nautical and other categories. Around 50 colorful penny toys, mostly Continental in origin, are in excellent condition and come from a long-held collection. There are numerous autos, motorcycles and specialty figurals, such as an articulated sailboat and soccer players. An additional European lot in this section is a large “Holland” biscuit tin ship.

Among the 200 character lots are 50+ vintage wristwatches, many in their original boxes. Characters represented include Mickey Mouse, the Lone Ranger, Davy Crockett and Donald Duck. A Howdy Doody wristwatch store display is a standout in this category.

The Saturday session begins with 50+ figural cast iron lots, including bottle openers, doorknockers and paperweights. Cast-iron mechanical banks are led by a Perfection Registering bank that Morphy’s CEO Dan Morphy says is “one of the nicest examples [he’s] ever seen.” Estimate: $25,000-$35,000. Other mechanicals include a Mammy with Spoon (blue dress version) and a near-mint Santa at the Chimney.

Cast-iron Perfection Registering mechanical bank, all original and in working order. Est. $20,000-$30,000. Morphy Auctions image.

Over 100 cast-iron toy lots will cross the auction block, with a large assortment of motorcycles, trucks and cars by Hubley, Arcade and Kenton.

A wonderful selection of more than 200 toy train lots awaits bidders, with many pieces coming from the Estate of Kenneth J. Rohrbaugh. “The trains in the Rohrbaugh grouping had been on loan to the Lincoln Train Museum in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania,” explained Morphy’s Chief Operating Officer Tom Sage Jr.

The predicted top lot in the train section is an outstanding Lionel Mickey Mouse Circus Train set, complete with its original box and cardboard inserts. Additionally, there are many excellent prewar Lionel 0 gauge passenger sets with original boxes, an American Flyer standard gauge stadium set in original set box, and a number of more contemporary trains, including productions from MPC and MTH (Mike’s Train House.)

“There’s a good mix of trains,” said Sage, “including a standard gauge white Ives 3243 set, an American Flyer President’s Special set, Marklin and other European trains.”

‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ No. 1 comic book, 1963, CGC-graded 8.5 with off-white pages. Est. $25,000-$30,000. Morphy Auctions image.

With the expert oversight of Brian Schutzer and Pittsburgh’s legendary Sparkle City Comics, Morphy’s will launch its new Comic Books division during the third session of the Feb. 9-11 event. More than 250 prized comics from an original-owner collection will be offered, including a 1963 The Amazing Spider-Man No. 1, CGC-graded in 8.5 condition, which is expected to realize $25,000-$30,000. Other anticipated top lots include a 1963 X-Men No. 1 and a 1963 Tales of Suspense No. 39 featuring the first appearance of Iron Man.

All forms of bidding will be available for Morphy’s Feb. 9-11, 2012 auction, including live at the gallery, phone, absentee, and live via the Internet through Morphy Live or LiveAuctioneers.com. The auction will commence at 10 a.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, Feb. 9 and Friday, Feb. 10; and at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 11. For additional information, call 717-335-3435 or email serena@morphyauctions.com. View the fully illustrated catalog online at www.morphyauctions.com.