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30,000 Cars Found In Donated Home!

30k-cars

That’s right, 30,000 cars! Obviously, they weren’t all full-sized, but still. If you haven’t already read this story then you should. A man named Dennis Erickson spent his whole life stashing away automobiles of every size. Most were diecast, but he had a handful of real ones too. Most people didn’t even know about them, but they lined just about every wall of his home. He was very meticulous and kept them all clean and documented. Some believe that his toy car collection was the world’s largest!

Besides his cars, his church was also very important to him. So, when he passed away he left his home and its contents to the church. Now they are selling everything off with the proceeds funding a remodel of their youth facilities. These mini motors may not be real barn finds, but this story isn’t any less amazing. We aren’t suggesting that anyone hoard this many away, but diecast does seem to be the way to go if time and money is limited. How many of you guys have your own miniature collection?

Source: KARE-TV

Comments

  1. Avatar Leaf36

    WOW!

    Like 0
  2. Avatar 18carRuss

    Interesting story, sounds like the kind of guy I would of loved to have met, discussed cars and marveled at his collection.

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  3. Avatar Joe M

    I remember seeing this guy and his collection on an episode of American Pickers. He was mentioning that the collection was going to get donated to his Church.

    Like 0
  4. Avatar Mack Johnson

    They are selling the die cast but not the real cars.

    Like 0
  5. Avatar BillB

    The lower left ’67 Chevy looks real!!!

    Like 0
  6. Avatar RoughDiamond

    Speechless!

    Like 0
  7. Avatar Bill

    Cool that he got joy from these while he was alive, but sad they’ll now be scattered around the world.

    Like 0
  8. Avatar Irish Bill

    I love this. It proves to my wife that my collection is not so bad.

    Like 0
  9. Avatar Bobsmyuncle

    This is actually a pretty sad story. Anyone with even rudimentary knowledge on the subject can infer what this collection represents as far as the owner’s mental state.

    The church thinks six figures?! That has to be highly unlikely.

    Regardless of the value and despite that it would be neat to see it kept together, is it really marketable complete? Seems that would spoil the fun for a true collector no?

    There really are 6 billion stories out there!

    Like 0
    • Avatar Jesse Mortensen Staff

      Actually, I don’t think six figures is unrealistic. The cars that are currently at auction have been bid up surprisingly high. Even if they were to only 2,000 of them at $50 a piece, they would have it.

      Like 0
    • Avatar Mike

      Eccentric!

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    • Avatar Ernie the Dancing Weasel

      @Bobsmyuncle

      Actually, I’m betting his mental state was a fair bit better than most folks. Looks like a man who did what he liked and liked what he did, and his friends seemed pretty pleased with him. We should all be so lucky…

      Like 1
      • Avatar Gary Merly

        Yup!

        Like 0
      • Avatar Bobsmyuncle

        That’s certainly one way of viewing it.

        Like 0
    • Avatar jimmy

      30,000 cars at $5 a piece would be $150,000 and I’m sure he has several rare ones too.

      Like 0
      • Avatar Bobsmyuncle

        I don’t see that evaluation personally.

        Just cataloguing them for evaluation would be staggering.

        One buyer at 6 figures without extensive cataloguing? Good luck!

        Like 0
    • Avatar rockribbedrushy

      Hey Bob, have you seen some of the prices? Seems to me that they probably made it. I’m sure someone will tot it all up and let us know what the outcome was, non?

      Like 0
  10. Avatar John K

    Not a great website to market these on. Very low exposure and looking at past sales, some things are not pulling market prices.

    Like 0
  11. Avatar Vegas Vic

    Should have saved all ME hot wheels !
    Niffy read, thanks for finding and shipping it to us! Reminds me of the early seventies plastic race tracks we ran our little cars on …. Fun times!

    Like 0
  12. Avatar JW

    Eccentric maybe, mentally unstable from age maybe, a lover of cars and they were his family and now god is…. JMHO !!!

    Like 0
  13. Avatar Car Guy

    That is truly amazing…..

    Like 0
  14. Avatar Karst Hoogeboom

    This makes my collection of 1500-1800 HO scale construction equipment look like a passing fancy. Not crazy – just someone who took great pleasure in organization (an engineer as stated) and every component in its proper place. And he didn’t have a spouse to impose constraints.

    Like 0
  15. Avatar RoughDiamond

    I hope an Angel picked him up and whisked him to Heaven in something that resembled one of his favorite diecasts.

    Like 0
  16. Avatar Birdman

    It would be a nice addition to my collection…..

    Like 0
    • Avatar Jesse Mortensen Staff

      Looks like fun Birdman!

      Like 0
  17. Avatar Ikey Heyman

    This story merely reminds me that you can’t take it with you. Enjoy it while you can.

    Like 0
  18. Avatar Seth J

    Just bought $100 dollars in Challenger diecasts. Was going to buy a pair of Daytonas, but got outbid.

    Like 0
    • Avatar Jesse Mortensen Staff

      Hey Seth, you were the one bidding against me! In the end, I backed out too. Won a few other ones though. Some of those cars went for decent money so I’m guessing the church is going to make out alright.

      Like 0
      • Avatar Seth J

        Wow! Those really must have gone for a lot then. I’m wondering if that was all the cars or just one batch. They seemed short on ’70s Camaros.

        Like 0
  19. Avatar angliagt

    Clicking on the link,I could only find a few auctions
    that hadn’t ended.
    This was on the news quite a while back.I guess it
    took them a long time to sort through & list them all.

    Like 0
  20. Avatar Moose Feather

    That collection deserved to stay together. Turn it into a museum or something, make your money on the proceeds of that and sale of the house.

    Like 0
  21. Avatar Woodie Man

    The next time I get yelled at for my small, orderly and varied obsessions, vehicular and otherwise, I’m waving this article around! I’m a piker!

    Like 0
  22. Avatar Mike Reese

    Man, I envy that guy … what joy it must have been to collect!

    Like 1
  23. Avatar GRAY WOLF

    Right with you Irish Bill! I only have about 1700+, so my wife doesn’t think I am goofy! Hey what’s so bad about cracking a cold one or six and dream what would happen if you won the lottery!👍🙀

    Like 0
  24. Avatar GRAY WOLF

    Bird man, you better get busy! You got a lot of empty space! I need to rent a few walls from you!! You can even add rows like a library and a fridge and a Lazy Boy and…….

    Like 0
  25. Avatar Andrew Johnson

    I’m getting close, 22,000 hot wheels and matchbox cars, and 18 full size cars. I’m on my way to his record!

    Like 0
  26. Avatar Mark

    I see no eccentricity, nor a mental issue, in doing what you love.
    I would hate to try and keep it all clean, though.

    Like 1
    • Avatar Bobsmyuncle

      No? As someone that sees this kind of behaviour often, there are similarities to this story and many other examples like it. I’ll refrain from pointing out the details out of respect.

      Like 0
  27. Avatar Rando

    It’s not hard to rack up quite a collection. I can put my hands on over 1000 hotwheels without leaving the chair near them. I have around 1/18 100 diecasts, 300+ built up plastic cars and probably thousands of hotwheels, matchbox, and other cars in 1/43. I don’t try hard.. They are easy to amass. 30000 is a large number; would take an effort. I knew a collector in town that had over 2500 cars. He would buy ONE of anything he didn’t have and was collecting as many replicas as possible. His ultimate goal was every car ever made. Unobtainable of course, because there is no replica of every car ever made. But he would buy it if it was even a reasonable facsimile of the actual car. Eventually donated them tot he local museum.

    I hope the organization makes a bunch of money. I need to sell a bunch of mine soon. Can’t take it with me and could use the money at this point in life. Even if they go cheap. I’d take a couple bucks per car right now if someone took them all in one load.

    Like 0
  28. Avatar stp

    If a crazy obsession with cars is a sign of poor mental state, heaven help all of us.

    Like 1
  29. Avatar Anthony

    r.i.p.

    Like 0
  30. Avatar harj

    The most important question, did he save the boxes?

    Like 0
    • Avatar rockribbedrushy

      He would’ve needed another house then, non?

      Like 0

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