Third, condition is of paramount importance.
![matchbook collectors price guide matchbook collectors price guide](http://realpriceguides.com/matchbox/choice/9.jpg)
Many collectors use the same types of pages and binders as for baseball cards. Second, as with most ephemera, covers should not be exposed to direct sunlight, heat, or high humidity, and they should be stored in non-PVC boxes or pages. As stated earlier, the only time you would wish to keep the matchbook intact is when the matches are actually part of the ad. This is done by gently prying the staple open (you do NOT want to damage the cover!) and removing the staple and matches. So, what are the fundamentals of matchcover collecting? First, both for display purposes and for safety, almost all collectors strip (remove) the matches from the covers. But don't let its cost scare you: a perusal of online auction sites shows that most covers can be had for just a few dollars. Presently owned by the Franklin Mint, its estimated value is in excess of $25,000. The rarest known cover is a single survivor of 100 handprinted copies issued by the Mendelson Opera Company in 1896. Since then, just about every organization, business, political party, resort and cause has used the medium of matchbook advertising to reach untold millions of consumers. Labels and covers have borne manufacturers' logos from their inceptions, but in 1894/5 an ad for Piso's cough medicine appeared on a matchcover, creating advertising history. With the general exception of "Feature-type" matches, which themselves are printed upon or differently shaped, it is not what is in the box or under the cover that is important to collectors, but what is on the outside of the package. To this day, matchbook covers enjoy great popularity among American collectors, while their European counterparts prefer matchbox labels. Though the hobby, called phillumeny, comprises everything from manufacturers' catalogs and samples to such non-ephemera ("hardware") as match strikers, it is the collecting of matchcovers, matchboxes, and matchbox labels that is of paramount interest.įriction matches began to replace flint and steel by the 1820s, when patents were granted in France and Britain, but it was not until 1890s that what we call the "matchbook" was invented and patented in the United States. Pink is said to be the most valuable color when it comes to Hot Wheels according to Freep, as it was less popular with the boys, Hot Wheels and Matchbox still to this day are wildly popular among young children and collectors, giving them the ability to own their dream car 1/64 the size and usually for a few bucks or less.Remember that scene in Alfred Hitchcock's "North by Northwest" where Cary Grant, standing by the villain's second-floor railing, writes a warning inside a matchbook's cover and then tosses it to the living room below in hopes that Eva Marie Saint will spy it? I'll bet phillumenists everywhere would love to add that little bit of ephemera to their collections!Īctually, they are a worldwide group of collectors of all things having to do with matches. Still, in some cases, the cars are so rare that they are worth a small fortune even in terrible conditions. The traditional blister packaging usually must be intact and with no cosmetic blemishes. Of course, the condition has a lot to do with value. Hot Wheels cars continue to hold their value in 2022, and this list is updated to reflect additional models worth a pretty penny. But even though some of these cars so common, you can find them anywhere some are exceedingly rare.
#MATCHBOOK COLLECTORS PRICE GUIDE UPDATE#
Update March 2022: Hot Wheels cars are beloved by kids worldwide. Since less were made, according to Antiques and Collecting Magazine, they’re more valuable.
![matchbook collectors price guide matchbook collectors price guide](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wkOexMohYOE/maxresdefault.jpg)
Due to the oil crisis, Hot Wheels had a hard time finding cars to recreate, and only six new models were released that year. Most would assume that the most valuable of both companies would be from the first years that they were made, which some are, but the most valuable Hot Wheels cars are from 1972.
![matchbook collectors price guide matchbook collectors price guide](https://www.antiquesnavigator.com/archive/2020/11/27/124448561849.jpg)
Hot Wheels hit the toy shelves in 1968 to compete with the already thriving Matchbox cars that were introduced to the world in 1953. Matchbox and Hot Wheels gave children an early itch to become car enthusiasts.