Models to die-cast for
James Cockington
January 30, 2008
A few years ago it looked as if die-cast model cars were about to become more expensive than the real thing. Fortunately prices have stabilised since but the amounts enthusiasts will pay for rarities is still astonishing - $1000 is not unusual, especially if the model is still in the original box, preferably unopened.
“Mint, boxed” are the buzz words used by collectors and there are some who will have nothing but in their collections. This is the equivalent of the bibliophile who keeps only first editions, preferably signed by the author. The general rule is that “mint, boxed” is worth twice that of an equivalent model without the box. But in some cases the box can boost its value tenfold.
“It really varies according to the car,” says Giles Moon, head of collectables at Bonhams in Melbourne. “If very few boxes exist for a particular car then it can be worth many times the unboxed example. However, some mint unboxed cars can be closer to the value of the boxed example.”