So called Generation X certainly had its members who as young lads collected baseball cards or comic books or autographed sports memorabilia, etc much as did there fathers before them.
But this age group also grew up with a lot of new things to watch, new toys to beg Mom/Dad for and even new sports to compete in such as BMX and Skateboarding
Its the nostalgia for these Gen X sports that has had me interested as of late. The collecting of mint or high-quality copies of the early, ground-breaking BMX hardware designs has become increasingly difficult.
One reason is scarcity. Though a lot of these BMX bikes and their respective OEM or After-Market parts were manufactured, most were beat to absolute hell by their respective riders/owners. Then those bikes/parts were understandably neglected and/or tossed out once the young owner gained a driver's license.
Needless to say finding, say a vintage Mongoose BMX bike from the 70s (Note: see this cool site, vintagemongoose.com for a little more history on the early years of the Mongoose brand) that is in mint condition is near well impossible. There are a few original copies out there but these require considerable restoration. And even these neglected copies have been going up in value as of late.
Do I see things like restored 70s era BMX bikes ascending in value from say a few thousand to several tens of thousands in subsequent years? Depends on the condition, depends on serial numbers, depends on availibility and perhaps even who the previous owner was (a famous competitor, bmx company owner?)
Same with other items like Mongoose's original MotoMag wheels -- BMW wheels manufactured by the Cragar Automotive Wheel Company in Chatsworth, Ca. They are cheap now, but I've noticed their design on a lot of modern T-Shirts and Hoodie Sweatshirts as well as Tattoos as of late! I'd say you'll see appreciation of these items, items under the radar for the average investor who dabbles in collecting.
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