Collectibles Q&A

NASCAR memorabilia collectors often have questions about the items they've accumulated. Here are our responses to some of your most recent inquiries:

Q: I have a David Pearson driving uniform, one of his last. It has Chattanooga Chew on it and is autographed by David. I've seen driver uniforms on eBay of drivers not as popular as David going for $1500-$1800. Any idea what it's worth?-Robert

A: Awesome collectible, Robert. I know of some Cale Yarborough and Bobby Allison uniforms selling for $3000-4000. I'd place the value of a Pearson firesuit in the same range. If it were a suit from his heyday in the Wood Brithers car, I'd rank it a solid $4000. Unfortunately, NASCAR has turned into a "here-and-now" sport when it comes to the popularity of drivers and the value of their collectibles. In other words, if Pearson was as big a star today as he was 30 years ago, his firesuit would be right on par with Jeff Gordon and Dale Jr.

Q: I have a 1:64 scale Racing Champions die-cast of the STP No. 43, autographed by both Richard and Adam Petty, on one of their stops during the annual charity motorcycle drive. I am looking to also have it signed by Kyle Petty, he had been part of the charity ride but due to an accident involving a couple of riders, I didn't get a chance to meet him. What is the car worth?--Henry

A: Well, I can't appraise the car itself because no details were given. But I can tell you how much the autographs add to the value of the die-cast. Adam's signature adds $75-100. The King's adds $25-50.

Q: I have a Bill Elliot "Thunderbat" Ford Thunderbird bank. I am wondering the value. I also have a 1969 NASCAR season program which was purchased in Tennessee during the G.T. 200 at Smokey Mountain Raceway. Some of the entries were Buck Baker, Tiny Lund, Jim Vandiver, Pete Hamilton and Richard Childress. What is it worth?--Charlie Joslin

A: The Thunderbat bank by Racing Champions is worth $40-50. The program is worth $25-35.

Q: I bought a "collectors mug" commemorating Jeff Gordon's inaugural win at the Brickyard many moons ago from QVC. It does have a serial number on it, but is it really worth anything? Thanks for the help.---Dennis M.

A: This mug is probably worth $15-25 on today's secondary market.

Q: Why don't the Action die-cast collectibles that were produced from Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s limited run in the Cup series in 1999 have the yellow rookie stripes on the rear bumper? Did the real car have them?--Russ

A: Good question, Russ. The real car did have the stripes. But this is a common occurrence. Manufacturers sometimes inadvertently leave off the stripes, as was the case with the '99 Dale Jr. cars. In fact, just last year, the first few releases of Denny Hamlin's No. 11 Fed Ex car lacked the rookie stripes.

Q: I have way too many Dale Earnhardt items to list. I never bought the items to sell, but am a little disappointed of their values. When I was collecting Earnhardt memorabilia, I was paying premium price for odd items: haulers, the crash car, trading cards, etc. It seems that everything has gone down now. Why has the market gone down so much?-John

A: John, simply put, the supply outran the demand. Some of it was inevitable. Until the early 1990s, there weren't many collectibles available on any driver. As more product became available, it cut into the price of earlier releases. That was bound to happen, even if production was kept at a reasonable number. However, to make things worse, some manufacturers just flat overproduced their products. That made a bad situation much, much worse. It not only put too much product in the marketplace, it turned off a lot of fans, making them lose interest in the hobby.

Q: I have a Dale Earnhardt, Sr. Hershey's stand-up. What is the value?--John Drehs

A: A good stand-up here. I'd place the value in the $50-70 range.

Q: I am dying to find out how much these items are worth. The first thing is a Jeff Gordon '95 Upper Deck card UD2 to be exact that I bought off of QVC in the same year. I purchased it for $65 and it was sealed and signed in blue ink coming with a COA. It says it is limited to 400 or 600 produced. The second things are a 1994 Brickyard ticket signed by Gordon and a 1995 ticket signed by Earnhardt, same seat section and stand. Lastly are the first year Gordon fan club photos that came signed. What are the values?-Cord

A: In my opinion, the Upper Deck card would be worth $100-125 now. The Brickyard tickets are neat-especially since they are signed by each year's race winner. I'd appraise the Earnhardt ticket at $125-175. The Gordon ticket would be valued at $$50-75.

Q: I have a Goodyear Eagle racing tire with a certificate of authenticity from Winston Cup Souvenirs of Mooresville that says it came from RCR Enterprises and was from the car of Dale Earnhardt. The date on the certificate is Feb.1, 1995. How much would this tire be worth on the market?--Bill Calder

A: I usually don't put much stock in tires as collectibles because they are just way too hard to authenticate. However, you have an absolute exception to that rule. The COA irrefutably confirms your collectible's authenticity. I think this tire is probably worth $100-200 on today's market. That COA seals the deal.

Q: I have a number of mint condition hats from occasions--like the red 1993 Daytona 500 Winston Cup hat, a blue 75th anniversary 1991 Indy 500 hat, a black 1995 Daytona 500 hat, and a 1993 Michigan Marlboro 500 hat. They still have the tags on them. By now, they must have some sort of intrinsic value to someone,, probably the most to the person that won that race.-Greg

A: In the grand scheme of racing collectibles, hats don't carry a whole lot of value monetarily. There are thousands of people around the world, however, who collect all kinds of hats. You have some very interesting examples in your collection. I'd place the value of the Indy 500 hat at $25-40. The rest would probably be worth $25-30 apiece.

Q: At the 2005 Busch race in Indianapolis, I met Mike Helton and he gave me a "Presented by NASCAR President Mike Helton" coin encased in a plastic case. It holds great sentimental value to me and I will never get rid of it but was curious as to whether it holds any other value.--A.L.

A: This is a unique item. Of course, driver coins hold more value than "non-driver" editions. But a coin featuring NASCAR's Head Honcho has to be worth something. I'd place the value at around $25.