Mercury (toy manufacturer)

Mercury was a brand of diecast toy cars manufactured in Italy from about 1945 through the 1970s. Along with Dinky Toys in England, Mercury was a pioneer in 1:43 scale diecast toys made in Europe. Today, Mercury models are rather rare and not easy to find. The company logo was the word Mercury within a rectangle with a round toothed gear behind the company name.

As with many toy car makers, Turin-based Mercury started as a diecaster of small parts. It produced metal parts mainly for auto companies (History of Mercury 2013). Later an importer for German Marklin, the company was started in 1932, by Attilio Clemente and Antonio Cravero, but its first toy was a gun produced about 1939 (Batazzi et al 1974; Force 1992, 5; History of Mercury 2013; Ralston 2009, 62). The company first began making toy cars just after World War II, so is one of the earliest diecast model makers preceding Corgi and many others and it was the earliest producer in Italy (Richardson 1999, 134). In Italy there was little competition for Mercury through most of the 1950s (Force 1992, 5).

Early cars were more Tootsietoy-like with simple cast bodies, wheels and no interiors. Later, in competition with Corgi and Dinky, Mercury added interior details and opening features to remain competitive. Early cars, like an 'Aero' coupe (which looked kind of like a Lancia Aprilia coupe) and 'race car' were generic and not based on real cars and early sizes hovered around 1:40 scale (History of Mercury 2013; Ralston 2009, 62; Richardson 1999, 134; Batazzi et al 1974, cover). The Aero was first a promotional for an Italian radio manufacturer named SAFAR, but almost immediately produced in its own right (History of Mercury 2013).

The company often took photos of cars at the Pininfarina and nearby Fiat factories where Mercury was located in the same industrial zone (Ralston 2009, 62; Batazzi et al 1974). Among the first 'real' cars Mercury made were the 1949 Fiat 500C Topolino and the 1950 Fiat 1400 sedan (Ralston 2009, 62, 64).

Mercury made more than 100 different models in its distinguished history. Italian sedans and sports cars were often the subject of Mercury and most were in 1:43 scale. In fact, Mercury's competition with the fine Politoys M series in the 1960s was simply called Mercury 1:43. Some British, American and German cars were offered, but also similar to Politoys M series, Italian Ferraris, Alfa Romeos, FIATs and Maseratis were common offerings. American cars seen were a Cadillac Eldorado, Lincoln Continental convertible, Studebaker Commander, a two-tone Studebaker Golden Hawk, and, later, a racing Chevrolet-powered Chaparral Prototipo 2F (Ralston 2009, 62-65). The tiny Autobianchi Bianchina was unique, as was the 1957 Alfa Giuletta, or the Porsche 908 Nurburgring.

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