TEXAS TOY MAN

Cox, Hubley & Wyandotte Toys

Received questions regarding the following 4 cars – so I’m responding here so everyone can see the cars along with my answers.
	This is a Thimble Drome Special manufactured in California circa 1950′s. This is similar to my Mystery Car No. 3 – but in yellow. Value $300-400*. For more information see post ‘Mystery Car No. 3 – Thimble Drome Special’.
In my opinion, this car is a Hubley racer made circa 1930′s. These cars have a value of $200-300*. If you’re lucky enough to have one made out of aluminum it’s worth between $800-1,000* and should be marked No. 2330
	This dump truck is made by Wyandotte circa 1931. It would appear to be in very good condition with a book value between $95-135*
This Wyandotte dump truck is similar to the version No. 318 which is much shorter in length. Style is the same. It is circa 1934. The book value of this truck is $150-225*.
For more information on toy prices visit Texas Toy Man Price Guide
*Estimated values shown above were taken from Collecting Toy Cars & Trucks by O’Brien.

Hot Wheel Nightmares!

	While visiting a few friends in Austin this past weekend, I was asked about the value of old Hot Wheels – like the old Red Lines made back in the 1960′s and 70′s
The conversation started out as a question and answer type session – they asked the questions, I provided the answers – which naturally led to values and how much would those old Hot Wheels be worth today. It quickly became obvious that most of the guys were expressing remorse as to what had happened to their favorite Hot Wheels. One said he had used his cars like a baseball and batted them just to see how far they could ‘fly’. Another said he remembers his brother stomping his Hot Wheels into the ground. Everyone seemed to have a story to tell as to why they didn’t have their cars in a collection today
I asked if any had bought the VW Beach Bomb – you know, the Hot Wheel that had the 2 surf boards that stuck out the rear windows. Two or three said, ‘Yeah, I remember having that car.” I then told them that if they still had that car today (in Mint condition) it could sell for as much as $6,000-8,000, and possibly topping out at as much as $10,000 if it were still carded.
This was the first time I’d ever seen grown men ‘cry’ over childhood toys. As the group broke up I heard all of them saying they were going to check with ‘mom’ to see if she had kept any of their old toys – followed by a small prayer that she had kept at least a few. If there is a moral to this story, guess it would be “to keep your children’s toys because you never know what’s going to become valuable”.
If you have questions or are looking for values on Hot Wheels or other toys, please visit my sites – Texas Antique Mall and David’s Hot Wheels

Want to know how to grade your ‘Modern’ toys as well as future toy purchases?

Whether you are evaluating your toy collection or looking to add to your collection, knowing how to evaluate and grade a toy is top priority. 

WHAT IS THE “C-10” SCALE FOR GRADING TOYS?

The C-10 scaling method is what I use for evaluating and grading all toys.  It is simple and the one most recognized by collectors around the world.  It rates toys on a scale of C1 – C10.  Assigning a rank of C-1 to a toy represents the poorest condition, while C-10 represents the best condition or Mint.  (BTW – the ‘C’ stands for condition)

Since C-10 represents Mint; a C-9 toy would be almost Mint, i.e. like new but out of the package.

C-8: Very clean with minor wear.

C-7 to C-6:  Played with but in good econdition to include in my collection.  (A toy in this condition would typically rate 60+% of the Mint value.)

C-5 and under:  Give them to the kids to play with.

IS THE ‘C’ SCALE ALWAYS TRUE & VALID?

Unfortunately, No.  If a toy is more than 30 years old, your chances of finding it Mint in the package are just about zero. So you have to check the market – i.e., reference books, Internet, and other collectors – to see what conditions must be met for that toy to be considered C-8 or better.

Grading a toy is definitely not an exact science and opinions will vary.  However, if you know beforehand what you require of a particular grade, when the opportunity comes around to purchase that toy, you’ll know what you want and what you are looking  for.