 |  | Quote: |  | | Posted by farmdigger | | |  |
| Neat finds.
How did you date those hot wheels?
I would love to know the age of some of mine.
Thanks! 
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Hay Farm digger,
The earliest Hot Wheels cars are now 33 years old and have become
the premier die-cast collectible, achieving incredible prices on eBay
and other venues for mint and rare pieces. (A recent private purchase
of a Pink "Rear-Loader" Beach Bomb was estimated at $70,000.)
Although not all Hot Wheels cars are valuable, the average sales price
for 1968 - 1973 issued cars is between $40 and $100. Rarer cars often
trade for between $150 and $500, and some of the rarest pieces sell
for up to $22,000.
Condition - As in any collectible, condition is crucial to what type of
price you can expect to achieve. Collectors are concerned with paint
chipping and scratches, wear on the wheel chrome, wear or scratching
on the windshield or other plastic parts, toning - a darkening of the
metal underneath the transparent paint.
"Redline" wheels - Redlines are what collectors call these early Hot
Wheels, because of the Red "stripe" or circle around the wheel's
sidewall, much like whitewalls. This was a popular trend in the '60s
and indicate that it could be an early car from the '60s and '70s.
However, Mattel re-issued some early Hot Wheels under the
"Vintage" series and the "25th Anniversary" series in 1994. These
re-issues carried redline wheels, but the Redlines is much more
subdued and is actually printed on the wheels as opposed to the
originals, which were hot-stamped onto the wheel.
Copyright date - This is found on the chassis, or the bottom of the
car, and collectors are looking for dates between 1967 and 1977.
However, the date on the base of the car is only the copyright
date, and not the date the car was issued. So you might have a
car that was sold last year, bearing a 1975 date, because that
was the year that casting was first issued. It's still a 2001 model,
though and will only fetch 2001 prices.
Spectraflame paint is actually a transparent paint that was used
in Hot Rods in the '60s. On Hot Wheels cars, the body of the
cars would be zinc plated to achieve a bright polish, almost
like chrome. The paint would be applied and the cars shine
beautifully, even today, because you can actually see the
brightly polished metal through the clear paint.
Original Redline Hot Wheels also included a revolutionary
"torsion-bar suspension" that allowed the car to absorb
shock and actually makes the car "bounce" a little bit,
when it lands on four wheels. This was designed into
the cars to allow them to do the many stunts made
possible by the various track sets available at the time.
Values vary based on condition, color (some cars were
rarely made in certain colors), rarity and desirability.
The best way to find out if you have the real deal?
Consult a price guide, available on Amazon or at your
local mega-bookstore.
Tomart's price guide is the standard.
Hope that helps,
Tabdog
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