Little Falls Man May Have Largest Collection of Popular Toy in NY State

Holy Hot Wheels! A man in Little Falls has apparently amassed an incredible collection of over 10,000 models of the miniature Mattel toy.

Edward Cooley, a lifelong resident of Little Falls, started collecting the tiny die-cast cars as a child. He's now stockpiled so many that he has a specific room where they're hung and displayed, resembling a section of a toy store. His impressive car cache includes some rarities that are worth north of $2K apiece.

Cooley said he was always drawn to the colors and the attention-to-detail that goes into each car. Despite the enormity of his collection, he says a few have eluded him, as some of the rarest Hot Wheels models can fetch over $20,000.

Hot Wheels were first introduced to the market in 1968 by Mattel. They were the closest competitor to Matchbox, who also made tiny toy model cars until 1997, when Matchbox's parent company, Tyco Toys, was acquired by Mattel.

Amongst toy collectors, Hot Wheels has always been one of the most popular brands, due to the scarcity of certain models, some of which are made specifically for one-off promotions and tie-ins with other brands. Their partnership with McDonald's is particularly well-known, with the cars being the perfect size for Happy Meal giveaways.

There are so many Hot Wheels varieties that a 100% complete collection is unlikely to exist.

Cooley also occasionally sells to other collectors, due to having a large number of duplicates, and he welcomes inquiries about potential sales. If interested, you can email him at snafu57@yahoo.com.