QUOTE I have an MFA in poetry from the University of Iowa's Writer's Workshop.
I sympathize with you, as well as with Goethe and Victor Hugo, all this in Alexandrin verses. And as you pointed out, our modern society is not so poetic when they only give you $250.00 for your talents.
So I am going to respond as best as I can with your questions with real-life numbers, that few here will understand and will find either "outrageous", "unreal", "crazy" or even "insane". So be it, and they can argue the point ad aeternam if they wish.
By FAR the most valuable, commercially-produced slot car ever sold to the public is the 1966-issued Cox Chaparral 2E "Mag" kit version, sealed in its original box. Several public-auction and private sales have brought from $8000.00 to $15000.00, with lots in between. It is not a rare car as an assembled unit, but certainly is one as an unmolested kit in a perfect box.
The HIGHEST valued reported private or public sale of a single slot car item happened in 1998 when a factory prototype of a Cox Ford MKII and the only real kit box known to exist sold for a hefty $19000.00 to a well-known Japanese collector. However, several 6-figure collections are known to have been purchased privately. HO cars, especially the Aurora T-Jets have of course been the subject of crazy and frantic bidding for "rare" items that is until the Internet allowed so much hidden stuff to come out and promptly depress values. So a plateau has been reached there, and stability has now been established.
Virtually ALL the most expensive slot car items are of either American or Japanese origin, several Tamiya mint kits having sold as high as $5000.00 (Dodge Charger) while several other K&B "Series 2" and Cox "Team Modified" kits fetched over $4000.00.
The most expensive Euro item is certainly the original Bugatti type 59, with a private reported sale of $4300.00, which is the highest number I was able to find so far. Phil Smith might shed the most recent light on this.
That was for actual monetary value.
As far as "collectible value", it is of course left to the individual to pick and chose what he likes. In these pages, most lurkers like much less expensive items manufactured relatively recently by companies such as FLY, Ninco, Scalextric... citing that "rare limited edition this-and-that". From the decline in general value of such items from the highs of a few years ago to today's rather depressed pricing, I would say that it is better to like these items for what they are and enjoy them rather than collecting them as an investment, but an accumulation of such may be profitable at the end if bought properly. Some cars will bring only 10-20% or their original retail value 4-5 years after issued, while others will bring twice or 3 times as much. Beyond that, it is frankly doubtful that they will ever reach the highs of the "golden era" of the 1960's items.
The economic circumstances of each collector are also important: disposable income for all is not the same... so MOST are setting their sights on what they can afford, but also MOST have little clue of what's out there in which they could invest and really come out better than plonking money on dead-end savings account in the local bank. Collecting wisely also requires the most sophisticated education on the subject at hand.
A good example of wise and enjoyable investment are Dinky Toys collectors who purchased pre-1970 models in the late 1970's to mid 1980's and stashed them away until today. Because of the inherent poetic quality (poetic personality reflecting their creators is the most wonderful attribute of antique toys) of such toys, they are now sitting on financial appreciation going from 100 to several THOUSANDS percent, competing directly with original Microsoft shares. The same is hardly ever going to apply to Scalextric toys at the exception of very few notable examples such as the Bugatti. Some will argue that the Pink Kar Bugatti is "the same for thirty quids", I am sorry for them if they think that way, and I think that it shows a very narrow frame of mind. However, one being free to think whatever one wants, I wish them all to have a nice day anyway.
Another growing form of valuable slot car items are cars hand built for serious so-called "professional" racing in the late 1960's to the early 1970's and documented as such. A few years ago, these items were absolutely worthless. Now their value has soared to serious levels due in much part to exposure by knowledgeable historians and the re-discovery and restoration of such stars of the past. Moreover, modern replicas of such are now being built by enthusiasts of the younger generation, showing the true poetic (here we go again with the P word), worth of such hand built artistry.
Now the price of PARTS for re-creating such cars is going through the roof. Are these people crazy, or what? As far as I can see ahead, I would say that if there are some nutcases out there, I also see lots of folks who are smarter than their bankers.
I hope that this addresses your questions.
Philippe de Lespinay
