I have some corrections to make from the June 2006 report, as some contributors to a collectors online message board were "kind” enough to point out. How about emailing me next time guys? First I showed a Jason Jessee "hotrod” that I said went off for $566. The seller says that he pulled the auction, so that wasn’t the final price. I never post prices of auctions that aren’t complete, so this one must have slipped through. Sorry about that. He assures me that the price he got was closer to $1000 in cash and trades, so there you are. Secondly another writer chimed in with a few clarifications. First he says that the McGill fighter plane is not mint. Well, in the 72 dpi pic I’m looking at it looks mint, at least as mint as a 25 year old deck can be, so no retraction here. He is right, I incorrectly stated that the Gonz "colored people” deck was his second: the "roses” deck was his second. He also writes in to say that the Gabriel Rodriguez cartoon deck isn’t a blind, but is in fact a 101, and was a common deck. I’m not so sure. If it so common, why did it go for $1500, which is more than any of the other cartoon decks like that I’ve seen? Blind did have a set of cartoon decks in 1992: the Jason Lee Foghorn Leghorn for example. That’s why I made that mistake, and why I couldn’t find it on AOS. My apologies. And the "Colvinetics” deck is a Randy Colvin, not a Mike Colvin. Again, my mistake. Please, if you have corrections, send them in, but my opinions are my own, so if I say a deck sucks and you disagree, too bad.
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Now that’s out of the way:
60s/70s.
Let’s start off with a classic: the Dogtown Bigfoot. This one is complete, and even has what looks like flints on the tail to make sparks. Or they could be some kind of tail blocks I’ve never seen before. Anyway, really nice condition complete with Indys (and Indy copers) and some kind of conical wheels. Dogtown Rock and Rollers perhaps? $909.
Here’s a real rarity. Caster boards never come up, and here’s a great specimen. A Chris Strople with big ass wheel wells. It must be from when concave was still a novelty, because it proclaims it’s lack of flatness right in the graphic! $1,125.
A Dogtown Wes Humpston, but this one has a sweet blue fade from the edge of the deck in. Alva resurrected this art in the mid to late 80s, and Bulldog continues this today on some of their decks. It makes the deck a real eye catcher, not your regular dull plank by any means. It’s showing its age, but the graphics are all there. $364
And here’s a real blast from the far past. A Makaha Sidewalk Surfboard. Fug, man, just look at that thing. It looks more like a water ski than a skateboard. Is 1964 a good guess? Anybody? Living, breathing history. $350.
And now for the Sims show. Recently there’s been an explosion of mint 70s Sims stuff on eBay. I showed a coupe of pieces last month, and called shill on them, but the stuff this month is from a different seller, and all seems completely legit. Some of this stuff I’ve never seen before, and judging by the prices, some of you haven’t either. Let’s get started. First we have this Sims Street Stik. It’s probably from the 80s, but I’m keeping it with the other Sims stuff. A very similar graphic treatment to their pro decks here, with the name in the middle flanked by Sims logos. I’ve never seen this before. $661.
Actually, I think this is from a different seller because it’s not mint. A Sims 10″ Taperkick. Used but not abused. $820.
Back to the mint stuff. This is a Mike Folmer model, and as the shape shows, Sims weren’t afraid to be experimental with the shape of their decks, as this stinger shows. Just a beautiful deck. $1,525.
And here’s a mint 12″ Superply model. I don’t know anything about this deck other than it’s mint, huge, and very rare. $2,025.
And the crown jewel. The Sims Greg Ayres Flying Wedge. Look at all of those different woods in there. Undrilled. Amazing. $2,225.
Last month we featured this Lonnie Toft "shovel nose” as a used complete that went for $405. Well this month we have it mint. $2,025. Again, a great innovative shape from the deck shapers at Sims. They really were ahead of their time.
But it doesn’t stop at decks. Here’s a set of mint Sims Snakes wheels in the highly desirable green. These went for $500, which is about what I’d expect, and a price that emphasizes that ridiculous shill bid last month, when identical wheels went for $1,225. Please.
And here’s another set of Sims Snakes, this time in red. $360. The seller of all of this stuff must have made themselves a nice down payment on a house or car with all of their Sims sales. Best of luck to ya!
80’s.
First up in the 80s section we have this Powell Ray Barbee "fire hydrant” in black. A ton of folks love this deck. Barbee has remained a cult figure and his decks are always highly sought after. $408.
A Zorlac Big Boys deck. This used to be a real grail, but it seems like reissues an more originals surfacing might have hurt the value of the original. This deck went for $821, which is still decent money, but in my early baywatches this was fetching over $1500 every time.
It seems like I’ve seen this one before? A good condition, second model Cab pig in silver dip. The graphics are in great shape, but the huge Cab autograph really detracts from the look and value of this deck. I would have thought that a complete in this condition and of this vintage would have fetched close to a thousand, but the autograph is big. Too big. $431.
A couple of years ago you wouldn’t have gotten over $100 for this deck. What is it? It’s the second Corey O’ Brien deck, and a real letdown after his brilliant rookie model. Like I say, a year ago these routinely went in the $90 range. Not anymore. An explosion of new collectors have pushed some deck prices sky-high. $300!
A classic Dogtown Eric Dresden from the mid 80s. Again, the autograph might detract from the value, but only a little this time. It’s discreet and in keeping with the deck. $355.
Gators. Here’s a mini, no wheel wells, later production run. Nice colorway. $621.
And here’s a full size, but with a fade from pink to orange to lime. Wheel wells in the front too, which I believe makes it a little older than the one above. Nice deck. $763.
I was surprised this one didn’t go higher. I know that Claus Grabke isn’t the biggest name out there, but he is a name from the 80s that everybody knows, and this "melting clocks” mini deck is highly sought after. I’ve seen this deck on a ton of wanted lists, with people saying they’d pay anything to get it. I guess some people’s idea of "anything” doesn’t go over $300, because this went off for a respectable $325.
I think I know the history of this Grosso "toybox”! A friend of mine bought it for $300ish about 4 years ago, then kept it until he got the chance to trade it for his grail. He traded it, and then the guy who got it sold it on eBay. How much? $1,500. Not a bad return eh? .
Talking of Grossos, here’s the infamous "Alice” deck. Personally I would have removed the rails and tailbone: they mask the graphic and probably lowered the selling price by a couple of hundred. It looks pretty minty without them I’m sure. $1,525.
Aah, the Sims Hosoi model. Someone really color coordinated this one nicely. Blue Gullwings (or are they Trackers?), blue rails and nose guard, and red wheels. Very nice. $520. I’m sure it made some little grom the talk of the suburb for about 10 minutes until he lost interest and started playing on his Sega.
Now this is a nice complete. A Powell Mullen "chess” deck complete with Indy 101s and freestyle wheels. Great condition. Ready to take out and start doing caspers on, but don’t forget the shin guards. $690.
Ever wondered what a pretty beat up popular deck goes for, so you can see if you can afford one? This Natas "Humpston” went for $325. Do you have the cash?.
And finally we have a 1986 Schmitt Stix Monty Nolder that I’ve never seen before. Monty Nolder was one of those 80s pros who was always known for skating hard and skating tough, but who never had the showmanship or tricks to break in to the elite. His deck prices reflect that for the most part. However, this "totem” deck in a vivid purple full dip puts an end to that. $566 is unheard of for a Nolder, but there you go. It must have been the grail of a few collectors out there. This is the mini size: the full size had a different treatment of the graphic, with Monty running vertically in the totem pole. Ooh, and did I mention that he is deaf?
See You next time.
