Sorry this has taken so long. I set it out weeks ago, but none of the decks really excited me too much, so it’s been tough building the enthusiasm to actually sit down and do it!!
This month the column is brought to you by the sounds of The Jam. All Mod Cons actually. Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler are currently touring with 2 other guys as From The Jam. They play all of The Jam classics, and in Jam style, not the hippy crap style that Weller does these days. From hat I hear they put on a kick ass show. I’ve got a ticket for the Chicago show, so we shall see.
Late 70s/early80s.
First up, we have this Alva leopard pig from 1979ish. It is obviously well skated and the trucks and wheels look they’ve been carved out of stone. They are green Sims snakes and Gullwing trucks if you were interested. It was used when the owner was in high school in 80-82, and has been “put away” since then. The auction ended at $676.
Now this is nice. It’s a Dogtown Bob “the bullet” Biniak model. It is a rare one, and has a layer of green fiberglass on the bottom. The green is startling: it looks like it was painted yesterday, and the back routed wheel-wells are beautiful. This is really really nice. $1,250.
This one is interesting. It’s a prototype deck made by Boulder Customs out of Colorado. Boulder created some of the most innovative skateboards of the 70s. The beam construction boards from Dogtown and Kryptonics and the routed decks that Variflex put out were manufactured by Boulder. K-Beams, Shogos, Triplanes, all made by Boulder. This deck seems to be a prototype that Boulder tried to use for Dogtown, but ended up modifying and using for Variflex. The first Eric Grisham model for Variflex would be the closest production model. It’s not a great looking deck, but there’s lots of history here. $521.
And now for a couple of G&S Dennis Martinez “Flying Aces” decks. The first is a lightly used example of the fiberglass bottom, fiberflex pig that was really popular for a while. The two skidplates have protected it from major wear. This is the smaller model. The auction ended at $405.
And here’s one in NOS condition. This one is the larger and rarer 30.5” by 10” model. This same seller sold a white one in October 07, and he was kind enough to link to Baywatch in his auction. Super clean, “like it just left the skate shop in 1979”. The seller put a Buy It Now price of $50, and it sold immediately. He probably could have gotten far more.
Here we have 70s vintage Santa Cruz slalom rig, complete with ACS 650 trucks and Kryptonics C-65 wheels. It bears the words “Graphite Loaded USA” right below the Santa Cruz logo, in the SC font. The Indy sticker when he has ACS trucks on it is a nice touch. Pretty rare apparently: the seller asked for any info on the board, and none was forthcoming. $410.
This Shogo went off for $3,050, but not so fast! The seller had a feedback rating of -1, and apparently the bogus seller stole the images from some other auction. An enterprising collector set up a bogus account with the name “none_4_u_fool” and “won” the auction, so some unsuspecting bidder wouldn’t get ripped off. Nice one!
I don’t think I’ve ever featured anything from Tunnel before, which is weird because they were a classic 70s company. It’s obviously unridden: tough to set it up when it’s never been drilled! Some storage scuffs, but basically mint. $426.
Here’s a used set of Blackhart wheels. Highly sought after and very rare. They are 60mm, and were rated at 99a, which was unheard of for the time. They had a center set bearing seat and were double conicals. Apparently the seller had kept all of his stuff from the 70s, and recently pulled it all out to skate a concrete park again. Some other skaters pointed out to him that they were collectors’ items, so off to eBay they went. He threatened to ride them again it they didn’t meet his minimum bid. No worries there. They went for $1,032.
Mid 80s
This is an Alva Dagger Tail from 1985ish. Apparently it was purchased at a trade show in Atlantic City when the Alva rep didn’t feel like packing everything back up, so he sold everything off. It has Gullwing III trucks and Slimeballs on the back, but the front hanger and wheels are missing. The double tailskids helped to protect the unusual shape of the tail, hence the name! $510 and a great story as well. Nice score Alan and Brit!
Here’s a Neil Blender “driving” model. G&S really started doing some interesting stuff with their wood stains in the late 80s, and this is an example of that. It’s half green/blue stain, half natural. You don’t see this graphic too much, and especially not on a novel colorway like this. $405.
Here you go. For those just starting a skateboard collection, here’s a great starter kit. It’s 4 Dogtowns from the late 80s: a Ben Schroeder, and 3 Micke Albas. Apparently one is mint and the other 3 have minor storage marks. Selling them together is an interesting idea, but I think the seller definitely lost money here. They sold for $925 with a buy it now, but I’d value each deck at around $300. So maybe he lost around $300, but with the weirdness of eBay, who knows?
Now, I don’t know if there was some chicanery with this Dressen “roses” deck, but it was odd. Either the seller had 2 identical decks, or there was a problem of some sort. In early December this deck sold for $800. Then a week later it showed up again, exactly the same picture and seller. The second time it sold for $400, which is more in line with what I’d expect this to go for. So what was the deal? And if there were two, the first buyer must have felt pretty burned when the second one went off for half what he paid!
Yes, it’s a Vision Gonz, first graphic. In a sweet loud blue, that really accentuates the rest of the neon colors on here. This is a sweet example of an 80s classic. No wheel-wells, but you can’t have everything! It still fetched $1,225.
Last month I featured that fake looking Powell Grabke, but this month I have another, but this looks how I would expect a Powell Grabke to look. Piggy, with the classic Powell barrel wheel-wells. The condition isn’t bad either. Drilled for rails, tail and nose guard, but the plastic obviously saved the graphics on this rare board. “Ooh, Grabke”. $898.
I used to feature only the decks that went for the biggest money, but in an attempt to keep things interesting around here, I’ve decided to feature some other decks too. Auctions where I like the graphic or the skater, or ones that are a total bargain. Case in point, this Vision Tom Groholski “heavy metal”. It’s not the greatest graphic in the world, but it has something. All of the plastic and the trucks and wheels are color coordinated with the graphic, which is a nice touch and must have taken some time. After doing that you’d wonder why the kid never skated it. Maybe it was too pretty. It has black Trackers w/ white copers, black Kryptonics double cons, and it even has quality Schmitt Stix plastic. All around it is a very nice package. $255? Now that’s a steal.
It seems like I have two Jessee’s every month: a sharktail and a mermaid tail. I guess this month is no exception, but I might have had my fill of this graphic for a while. It’s a purple dipped first run Neptune. Used but not abused, with the grip tape pulled off. It’s hard to tell from this image, but it is a striking deck. $620. Maybe the market is getting saturated?
And here’s its partner. A Jason Jessee “Neptune” with the mermaid tail. The deck is not mint: it is drilled for rails and there are some smudges etc, but it is very clean and the graphics really pop. Clean and rockin’ and $1,084.
Here we have a Sims kamikaze complete. Hosoi had the graphic and then left for Alva. Sims decided to keep the graphic, simply removing his name from it, and renaming it the kamikaze. This complete has Action + trucks (?) and Sims street wheels. It has a jumbo tail guard, rails, nose guard and lapper!!! The board was kind of looked down on in the 80s because it was generic and didn’t have “pro” status. It has kept its worth though. This one went for $500.
I’m telling you man, Kendall’s keep growing and growing. If SC Jeff Kendall decks were a stock, I’d say “buy, buy, buy!” This “snake” is awesome. I love the dark green stain; it really compliments the browns in the snake. Overall it’s a very sweet deck. Look at the pattern in the snakes skin. It says Kendall near the head and Santa Cruz by the tail. $835.
And here’s the Kendall “atom man”. This is where the cheap digital camera really hurts the seller. He says the deck “has a bright orange wood stain that really brings out the purple atom man”. Really? To me it looks poop brown and some dull blue color. If the colors really are eye-popping, then you have to take a photo that demonstrates that! This whole thing looks like crap. $806, but it could have been far more.
Some auctions are ridiculous. Case in point. The Sims Lester Kasai “splat” graphic is classic. This colorway is classic too, fluorescent greens and purples. It is complete with early Indys and Dogtown rock and roller wheels. The graphic is in great shape, not mint obviously, but it’s all there. So why did this only go for $260? That’s just silly.
What more needs to be said really? It’s a JFA Don Lincoln model from 1986-ish. Mint and hideously ugly, it’s a hammerhead that forgot the notch. Wow. $227.
And here’s another complete that should have gone for far more than it did, much like the Lester above. This is a Santa Cruz Malba “grave”, complete with Trackers and Powell cubics. It has Schmitt Stix plastics on it, and even has a white lapper. The red copers look homemade. They are clearly not Tracker copers. Yes, all of the crap on there (including the big sicker) make the thing look busy, but it is still a classic early SC graphic (penned by MoFo). This one went for only $235. Wow.
And here is a very rare G&S Chris Miller deck from 1983. I love the pinstripe action behind the graphic. It seems like companies like Sims and G&S were late to the party as far as graphics go. Powell and SC had established artists and a direction. Sims and G&S didn’t see to have a clue, and were still putting out graphics that looked like video game logos from the 70s. I guess that adds to the kitschy look. Anyway, $306.
Maybe if the owner of this Powell Lance Mountain complete had tried really hard he could have made this even heavier than it obviously is. Just look at all this crap! Nose bone, rails, short rails, tailbone, Tracker copers, and the hugest Kryptonics double cons that you can find. It’s even a boneite! There is so much red plastic on there that it takes away from the classic graphic. Lance signed it under the front truck in gold. It must have cost a lot to ship! Let’s hope it didn’t go to Europe! $500.
I really like the look of the Rodney Mullen complete. Maybe it’s the angle it was shot at, but there’s something nice and simple about the lines and the colors here. It has Powell freestyle wheels, and the trucks appear to be Thunders, even though that seems unlikely. Did they make a small truck? Maybe just the baseplates are Thunders (they have daggers on them) and the hangers are Indys? It has the classic freestyle tail and nose skidplates. $510.
OK, let’s start the parade of Olson’s. First up is this truly vintage Santa Cruz Steve Olson “racing stripe” from 1981. Like I said above, Santa Cruz even had a kickass art direction as early as 81 while companies like G&S and Sims had no clue. This graphic is classic and timeless, and the colorway simply works. It has very early (Stage II I think) Indys, and has OJ Street Juice wheels. Yes it’s pretty chewed up on the tail and nose, but the graphic is all there. $765.
And here’s the model that followed it. They kept up with the checkerboard motif, this time flooding the deck with it. Again, the tail is badly chewed up and very discolored, but most of the graphic is there. $811.
And here’s yet another Steve Olson, this one coming from 1986 during his stint on Skull Skates. It was set up at one point, but is in great condition. The Olson checkerboard is still in full effect, this time in a sweet red and silver. $275.
And here we have an Alva Eddie Reategui “dolphin” from 1985. From what I can found out, this was Eddie Reategui’s first pro model. Why dolphin? Well it says “dolphin” under his name. Don’t ask me. The Vision sticker one here just kills me. Just pull that off please. The tail is very interesting. What was the thinking behind it? It does give it a very distinctive shape when viewed sideways doesn’t it? I think the green glows in the dark. Anyway, as with most things rare and Alva, this was won by akbk6100. Nice score Alan. $204.
The Sims Kevin Staab “mad scientist”. Personally I never rated the graphic at all. I thought it looked like something that would be on a deck you’d find at Target. And what’s with the placement of it? It’s all towards the nose, with a huge gaping hole at the tail. It looks like a mistake. This is a very nice example of one though: bright red and very clean. $645.
Oooh, I’m Zorlac and I’m scarrrry. I have lots of skulls and gory graphics by pushead. Fear me! Actually, the scariest thing about this deck might be the screening job. It looks like they forgot one, but sold it anyway. It ahs the classic penis shape that was popular for a few months in 86/87. It’s the Zorlac gargoyle and it sold for $410. So now you know.
90s-today
Here we have the Powell Peralta “blind ripper” deck from the early 90s. It was Powell’s response to the ads that the new, smaller companies were putting in Thrasher, ridiculing them as part of the old guard. It’s a deck with some great history behind it, and is one of the best colorways I’ve ever seen for this graphic. It deserves its $1,300 price.
This deck was a throwaway up until a few years ago. The later Powell McGills were all pretty crappy, but suddenly this aquarium graphic caught one, and now they go for decent money. The seller has two of them, one natural, the other black, and will let the winning bidder decide which one he wants. I’d pick the black one every time. $450.
Yup, it’s a SC Jason Jessee Neptune reissue. These appear to have established their market value, after climbing and climbing a few months back. It went for $340, which appears to be the norm for this deck. Of course, with this one being issued in so many different colorways, one might become more desirable than others.
And here’s another Santa Cruz reissue, this one of the Rob Roskopp eye. Nice colorway on this one. Very striking. This was one of the later Santa Cruz “30 fucking years” reissues, and by this time they were only issuing one color scheme, where with the early ones they were really trying. Today they appear to have given up completely, and are issuing most of them in that crap grayscale. The dust to dust series really sucks guys. Come on, put some effort in or stop completely. $331.
Assorted Crap
Long time readers will know my feelings toward Mark Gonzales and his so-called artwork. An artist on a skateboard? Definitely. One of the best of all time, a true legend. But an artist off of the board? Uh, no. His doodles do not class as art in my book, but I guess some people love it, because somebody purchased this “sketch” of Jay Adams for $407. My 7-year old daughter does better doodles than this. Maybe I should put her work on eBay. She spells better too.
You thought that was crazy? Yes the screaming hand logo is an 80s icon. Yes, Jim Phillips does some great work. But to pay $355 for a sticker of said logo? Not a deck, not even a sweatshirt or a t-shirt. A sticker. Can’t you buy these again? Somebody please explain this to me. It’s nuts.
Seeya next month.
-Neil
