'Antiques Roadshow' seller was in disbelief after expert revealed the value of his Hot Wheels collection

When one sees a piece of antique furniture, a vintage watch, or an artifact studded with jewels on “Antiques Roadshow,” it's not unusual to expect it will get a high valuation, although the owners are still surprised after appraisals. But once in a while, something seemingly mundane or not exactly vintage, such as a card collection or a toy, turns out to be worth a lot more than what anyone can imagine. In a recent episode of the show, a guest brought a bunch of toy cars to have them appraised. It might sound silly, but these Hot Wheels cars are now considered vintage.

Hot Wheels is a brand that needs no introduction. It was launched after Ruth Handler released Barbie dolls in the mid-1900s, and her husband, Elliott, saw that there was a gap in the toy industry for kids who weren’t fans of dolls. Hence, with the Southern California car culture in mind, Hot Wheels was created. Today, its products are bought by children and adults who have an affinity for miniature car models. That being said, what this guest had on the show was quite rare.

He had revealed that his father owned a shop and had three Hot Wheels display cases for the 1968 collection, the 1969 collection, and the 1970 collection. The guest even said that these displays were for sale for just under $15 but were never purchased. That price is way too modest for any of these sets, as the expert would later reveal. Out of these, the most valuable was the 1968 ‘Sweet Sixteen’ display. It had two cars that are highly sought after by collectors, which are, the Fastback Mustang in watermelon pink and the ‘68 Camaro in chocolate brown. When it comes to Hot Wheels cars, the colors matter a lot. The company never made one type for every car. Rather, they had several variations for each model. Some are easy to find, and some are extremely rare. Those two cars were rare, which made them highly valuable.

“Now, these two cars are exceedingly rare just to have the little car, let alone sealed in the display,” expert Travis Landry explained. However, the ‘68 display was damaged, and it wasn’t minor. But that doesn’t mean that it wouldn’t fetch a big sum of money at an auction. “But I love it. Look at the dust. To me, it’s like a miniature barn find,” the expert added.

“You gotta go find a ‘68 Camaro in a barn, covered with dust, untouched survivor. I’m looking at this as a survivor of Hot Wheels store displays,” Landry added. Now, it was time to put a price on these displays. The expert said that the ‘69 and ‘70 displays would easily sell for $5,000-$10,000 each. This already got a smile out of the guest.

“Now, let’s go to the ‘68,” the expert added. “Condition, yes - bad, right…busted in the front, it does hurt it. But you do have that watermelon pink Mustang, and you have the chocolate brown Camaro in there. Even in this shape that it sits, ‘68 display is easily gotta be $20,000 to $30,000 at auction.” The guest could not believe what he was hearing. “Wow, not bad for a 50-cent car, huh?” he asked in the end.