The Hot Wheels Garage: 12 April 2012

































April 12, 2012--Are the original Treasure Hunts of the Hot Wheels hobby making a resurgence? Recent values would indicate as such, that's for sure! Make no mistake...the 1995 Hunts have NEVER been on the cheap side. The simple fact of the matter is, they took a fairly decent nose-dive in value over the last decade or so. However, the latest trend would indicate an increase on nearly every model, and they're back on the climb. Certainly, the economic woes plaguing the globe had something to do with dropping values. Many collectors took a hit to the wallet, and this reduced the so-called "throw-away" income that was utilized for their hobby.

Despite the economy, one '95 Hunt retained its cult following, and value: the '67 Camaro. However, over the last several years, collectors have had to be cautious due to the plethora of "custom/fake" Camaro Treasure Hunts that have flooded the market. Many of the eBay sellers auctioning these off have been very up-front with the fact that they're truly customs, but there have been some unscrupulous sellers trying to pass off the customs as the real deal. Be wary. Ask questions. Know the characteristics of the real deal, and compare it to what the seller is offering. Even the blister cards have been reproduced, but there is a clear difference in the pixellation of the fake cards. Knowledge is power, when it comes to high-priced Hot Wheels!


The 1995 TH '67 Camaro is still the King!


So, how do the "Original 12" rank in value? After recently updating the '95 TH Price Guide, the cars stack up in value as follows (determined by auction prices, averaged out with a sample of at least 10 sales):

1995 TH Ranking By Value
Rank
Model
Value (as of 4/2012)
1
'67 Camaro
$386
2
VW Bug
$134
3
Classic Cobra
$100
4
Gold Passion
$90
5
'63 Split Window
$76
6
Olds 442
$72
7
'31 Doozie
$59
8
Classic Nomad
$58
9
'57 T-Bird
$56
10
R/R Phantom
$50
11
Stutz Blackhawk
$48
12
Classic Caddy
$42


There you have it. The value of the 1995 Treasure Hunts, as decided by the collectors themselves. It's not difficult to see that the Class of '95 has held it's value very well, mainly due to two reasons: It was the first year of the concept and the Limited Edition moniker is plainly stated as 10K per car. The 1996 TH's jumped up to 25K, and, well...who knows what the runs for the 1997-present issues are!

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned to NCHWA.com for more Hot Wheels-related articles! See you at the pegs.

Neal Giordano
NCHWA.com Founder/Editor

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