How To Tell REAL Lincoln LOGS From Fake

I had a huge tote of Playskool Lincoln Logs. I wanted to trim down what I had as I only have my grandchildren a few times a year. I don't need a huge tote of them, so I spent hours sorting them into bags by color and type. 

The oldest Lincoln Logs were sold in wooden boxes and were square in shape. Since then, they are all made the same. They are FLAT on one side. They are rounded but still have that flat extra lip on both sides. This allows them to start flat on the ground and you don't need an extra flat on one side piece like you do on the round knock off or copy-cat type logs. 

I had five or six different bags of cheap knock off logs. I still have a tote full of real Lincoln logs that I can hardly close, but it was interesting to see that there are so many different colors of Lincoln Logs. 

The smallest amount color I have is grey. I have enough of these for one kit. Then there are lighter colors of maple or light oak, but by FAR the red cherry or Mahogany color are the oldest colored logs and the most common. I probably have half a large tote full of the red colored logs and the oldest square logs are also the red cherry or redwood color. 

The older logs do show their wear and the stain is chipped a bit. If I cared, I would re-stain the wood, but I don't think they will be any less fun for the grandchildren. I share in the video I made how I have collected these logs over ten years or so by buying them at thrift stores whenever I see a bag. I never paid much attention to the shape, I would just purchase the bags so I could get a good collection of them. I paid between $1.50 and $10 but the average bag was about $5.

When I was cleaning out and realized how many I had, I decided to just keep the ones that are legitimate. I looked online to see how much they are selling for, and unless it is an original kit in the wooden box, it isn't selling for tons. Part of that is shipping costs, but I decided to go ahead and sell the six bags of extra's I had. Just to let you know, I offered them for $10 a large bag and $5 small online local sites, and I had a TON of people wanting them. 

However, dealing with people wanting to "pick" bags and holding them for people became and issue so I skipped many people who wanted just a bag, and I sold them to the first person that offered to purchase them all. I did have several people that wanted them all. I ended up getting $45 for all the bags and that was fair. 

Also, I share this information with you so that if you decide to sell yours, DON'T spend the time to sort them! There are enough people wanting all of them together that I wouldn't take the time to sort them again. It was OK as I wanted to sort out the non-Lincoln logs. However, if you are going to sell any, I wouldn't sort them again.

One other thing I have done is to collect fences and farm animals as the old kits had metal people and animals. I have some animals, fences, and a farmer doll that I keep with the sets. 

This is a fun toy I remember as a child and think it will be fun to make a Lincoln log city with the grandchildren, hopefully sometime soon!  

Have a blessed day!