Photo: Joel Magee
Time to start going through the stuff in your garage / basement, especially those boxes of toys you might have kept out of nostalgia. Joel Magee, aka America’s Toy Scout and Pawn Stars fixture, has found a Hot Wheels car worth four times more than the actual car it represents.
The toy is a 1968 Hot Wheels Camaro in white, one of the 16 released by Mattel. It was sold for 59 cents and is now worth over $100,000 – assuming Magee would ever want to sell it, which he doesn’t want right now.
If you do the math, $100,000 is about four times than the price of an actual Camaro, the 2020 model. Why buy four cars you can actually drive when you can get yourself a toy that fits in the palm of your hand?
On a serious note, this toy is extremely rare. As Magee puts it, not only is it part of a limited-edition series and in top condition, but it’s actually a prototype. It has been verified as the first Hong Kong enamel white example ever found: Mattel would paint the prototypes in white enamel to check for imperfections ahead of sending the toy into production.
For whatever reason, a handful of these prototypes were packaged and shipped to retailers. Magee notes that buyers didn’t even know the kind of treasure they held in their hands, and calls this one the “Holy Grail of Hot Wheels Collectibles.” At an estimated price of over $100,000, this is clearly not an overstatement.
It is the third rared Hot Wheels car, the only one of its kind believed to exist and the of the three most desirable Redline Hot Wheels, aka Hot Wheels manufactured between 1968 and 1977. Magee says he has no plans to sell it for the time being, and will be taking it on the road with him.
“I've collected toys forever and this Hot Wheels Camaro is the Holy Grail of collectibles,” Magee adds in a press release. “I am beyond excited to have found it to add to my vast collection. This car is so extremely rare that there is only one known example which is this one.”
If you do the math, $100,000 is about four times than the price of an actual Camaro, the 2020 model. Why buy four cars you can actually drive when you can get yourself a toy that fits in the palm of your hand?
On a serious note, this toy is extremely rare. As Magee puts it, not only is it part of a limited-edition series and in top condition, but it’s actually a prototype. It has been verified as the first Hong Kong enamel white example ever found: Mattel would paint the prototypes in white enamel to check for imperfections ahead of sending the toy into production.
For whatever reason, a handful of these prototypes were packaged and shipped to retailers. Magee notes that buyers didn’t even know the kind of treasure they held in their hands, and calls this one the “Holy Grail of Hot Wheels Collectibles.” At an estimated price of over $100,000, this is clearly not an overstatement.
It is the third rared Hot Wheels car, the only one of its kind believed to exist and the of the three most desirable Redline Hot Wheels, aka Hot Wheels manufactured between 1968 and 1977. Magee says he has no plans to sell it for the time being, and will be taking it on the road with him.
“I've collected toys forever and this Hot Wheels Camaro is the Holy Grail of collectibles,” Magee adds in a press release. “I am beyond excited to have found it to add to my vast collection. This car is so extremely rare that there is only one known example which is this one.”
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