But collectors can take heart. With more cards, candy tins and cuddly teddy bears on the marketplace than you can shake a cupid’s arrow at, Valentine’s Day keepsakes are a surefire source of the warm and fuzzies. And at generally reasonable prices, they’re a good investment, too.

The holiday as we celebrate it today is a whole lot sweeter than its pagan origins. Valentine’s Day is believed to be a Christianized offshoot of Lupercalia, a fertility festival celebrated on Feb. 15 in ancient Rome. Modern lovers can thank Pope Gelasius for recognizing that the pagan traditions of Lupercalia—frenzied boys slapping womenfolk with strips of goat hide soaked in sacrificial blood, for instance, and a crude lottery system that allowed randy bachelors to literally pull the names of their mates out of a communal urn—were not only un-Christian but downright un-romantic, as well.

Lupercalia out, St. Valentine in

Around 498 A.D., the pope gave a thumb’s down to Lupercalia and decreed Feb. 14 would be celebrated as a Christian feast day in honor of St. Valentine—but which one? Historians disagree because there were no less than three third-century Christian saints named Valentine or Valentinus. Supposedly, they were all martyred on the same date—Feb. 14.

Tales of these mystery-enshrouded religious figures’ heroism and propensity for romance gave rise to numerous legends. One of the most popular has a lovelorn priest named Valentine, confined to jail and awaiting his death sentence, writing a letter to his beloved and signing it “From Your Valentine,” a catchy sentiment that would live forevermore.

Over the centuries, Valentine’s Day evolved into a day specifically set aside for lovers. A pivotal event occurred in 1414 when Charles, the Duke of Orleans, a prisoner of war in the Tower of London, penned a love poem to his wife on—you guessed it—Feb. 14. That heartfelt note, still in existence, is considered the earliest known valentine.

Antique Valentine's card

For more information about this beautiful card, visit GoAntiques.

By the late 1700s, Britishers’ fondness for exchanging small tokens of love on Valentine’s Day, including handwritten notes and homemade cards bedecked with lace, satin and ribbon, gave way to commercially printed, ready-made cards featuring poeticized sentiments.

1909 Ullman card

If you would like this lovely card for your loved one, go to GoAntiques.

In America, entrepreneur Esther A. Howland became known as “The Mother of the Valentine” in the 1840s for her pioneering card designs marrying elaborate floral and lace decorations with such enduring sentimental motifs as bleeding hearts, turtledoves, cupids and lovers’ knots. Today, Americans send about a billion valentine cards every year, second only to Christmas, which boasts a 2.6 billion-card volume annually.

The 20th century saw the advent of more whimsical and humorous valentine cards, particularly in America, where schoolchildren adopted the tradition of Valentine’s Day parties, often built around crepe paper-decorated valentine boxes for collecting store-bought cards from classmates.

Small boy in uniform

Find out more about this blushing cutie on GoAntiques.

For decades, children’s valentines, commonly sold in classroom-sized packs, have typically featured lovesick cartoon animals and cherubic kids delivering pun-filled declarations of puppy love. Highly sought after among collectors, mechanical valentines dating from the 1930s-1950s are among the most charming valentine ephemera.

Mechanical bunny

More about this adorable honey can be found on GoAntiques.

The aphrodisiac properties of chocolate have been appreciated for centuries, but it wasn’t until the 1860s that British chocolatier Richard Cadbury had the genius idea of putting the food of love—or maybe just lust—in a heart-shaped box. Victorian swains on both sides of the pond found it a dandy way to woo their valentines, and a courtly tradition was born. Today, Americans purchase some 38 million heart-shaped boxes of candy every Valentine’s Day.

Fairbrook candy tin

This beautiful collectible is being offered on GoAntiques.

Heart-shaped valentine tins dating from the early to mid 1900s are highly collectible, particularly those from legendary brands like Hershey, Whitman and Fanny Farmer. On the contemporary front, collectors get all shook up over Russell Stover’s long-running line of Elvis Presley valentine tins.

Elvis Presley tins

If the King of Rock ’N’ Roll rules your heart, you might covet these Elvis tins.

In recent years, Valentine’s Day teddy bears have gained in popularity as both collectibles and alternative romantic gifts. Vintage teddies by Ideal and Knickerbocker command premium prices in exceptional condition. With dozens of Valentine’s Day editions available, Ty’s Beanie Baby Bears and American Greetings’ Care Bears offer collectors unending possibilities to express their ursine ardor.

1940s teddy bear

Isenberg teddy bear

If you’d like to cuddle this 1940s bear, visit GoAntiques. Or what about this charmer designed by Barbara Isenberg? It, too, can be found on GoAntiques.

KISS-e Ty Beanie Baby

Tenderheart Care Bear

Pucker up to this Beanie Baby on GoAntiques. Does this Care Bear melt your heart? Check it out on GoAntiques.

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

Bruce Pascal poses with orange Ferrari P917 Hot Wheels and prototype Hot Wheel molds

Pascal is legendary as the chap who, in 2000, paid big bucks for a Rear Loading Beach Bomb—an RLBB in Hot Wheels vernacular—that had surfaced from a former Mattel employee’s collection. Both the find and the purchase price—undisclosed, but the asking price was $72,000—sent shock waves through the die-cast collecting community because this wasn’t just any Hot Wheels car: It was a rare prototype, never mass-produced because it was too narrow to work with a popular accessory, the Super-Charger, and had to be reconfigured in a wider design.

And not only was it a holy relic from Hot Wheels’ formative years, it was pink, which for collectors is like manna from heaven. Plus, it looked bran-span-new, with nary a ding betraying the rigors of testing it undoubtedly endured.

Pascal spoke to WorthPoint from his home in Potomac, Md., a suburb of Washington, D.C., about his abiding passion for Hot Wheels.

How long have you collected Hot Wheels?
For 40 years, with a big gap in the middle. First from 1968 to about 1972, then from around 1999 till today.

Was it the intrigue over the pink Rear Loading Beach Bomb that rekindled your interest?

Yes. Every hobby has its king, and the RLBB had established itself as the ultimate Hot Wheels. And with very few trading hands, it was clearly on my list. When a pink one was for sale—and, at that time, the only one known in that color, then bingo, I felt it was the car for me to get.

The legendary pink Rear Loading Beach Bomb prototype

The obvious question: It’s just a toy car. Why pay so much for it?
Let me tell you the whole story. In late 1999, I read in article about a pink RLBB that been sold by Chris Marshall of Ohio for the record sum of $72,000. Understanding $72,000 was a lot of money, I thought to myself that if you compare that amount to other record-selling collectibles, then maybe it wasn’t such a high number after all. For example, the 1804 silver dollar, just a coin, sold for over two million. The Honus Wagner baseball card, an original penny item, sold for over one million. And look at all the paintings and sports cars selling in the millions. Hmm, maybe not so bad. But too late for me—it had been reported sold by the paper.

One month later, reading a different newspaper, I saw the same article, but with a different ending. That article said the deal should close soon. I knew something was fishy. I then tried to locate Chris Marshall, with no luck. So I tracked down the newspaper author, and he hooked me up with him. Wouldn’t you guess, the buyer had second thoughts, and after putting a deposit down, he still had not come up with the funds.

Chris and I negotiated a deal over the next few months. I was able to apply the down payment the other person had put down and negotiate a price that I was comfortable with. It was clearly a new record for a toy like this, but I had confidence the die-cast hobby for Hot Wheels would grow, and years later, I would look back to this purchase as a smart move.

Chris flew in from Ohio and gave me the car, and I gave him the check. He had a great sense of humor, too. I unwrapped the car and noticed he put a fake car in the tube. After my small heart attack, he handed me the real deal, and I have owned it since then.

Preproduction prototype Red Baron

Preproduction prototype Twin Mill (photos courtesy Bruce Pascal)

You’re never going to say how much you paid for it, are you?
Well, the seller and I signed a confidentiality agreement. He bought a Viper for cash afterwards back in 2000, though, so that gives you a clue!

The car’s had some pretty good exposure, hasn’t it?
A few years ago, I loaned it to the Petersen Automotive Museum in L.A. As one of the best automotive museums in the United States, I felt safe with it there, and it was seen by hundreds of thousands of people. The display was amazing. I have also shown it at automobile shows and Hot Wheels conventions. When not shown, it is kept in a locked vault at a hidden location. If asked and I am comfortable with security, I will take it to shows and allow people to photograph it with them holding it in a clear case.

You were lucky enough to find another rare pink RLBB, too.
Yes. A few years after I got the first RLBB, I was doing an interview with a former Mattel employee who said he thought he still had one of those models somewhere in his house. I called him four months in a row, and he never found the car. The fifth month, his wife answered, and she said she knew where it was. Bingo! And it was pink! I got it and sold it two years later for $55,000.

How many Hot Wheels total are in your collection?
Today, the collection includes about 5,000 cars. First are my favorites: about 120 Redline prototype cars. Then about 80 Japan boxed cars—the complete series, which took years to finish. Next, slightly over 1,000 additional Redlines and about 3,800 Blackwall-era cars.

Do you have any personal favorites?
My favorite cars are the design and development prototypes. Included in this category was a test car to see if a gasoline engine could be made small enough to put in a Hot Wheels car, a prototype of a car that makes noise as it rolls down a track. Or the cars with actual steering mechanisms added. Another favorite is production-testing cars with the entire chassis and base in clear plastic. They are exceedingly rare and hard to find.

Gasoline-powered Hot Wheels prototype (courtesy Bruce Pascal)

You have a lot of behind-the-scenes production items, as well.
Right. I have over 40 pieces of original early items that directly relate to the making of an actual Hot Wheels, such as the mock-up model used to show [Mattel co-founder] Elliot Handler the Custom Fleetside in 1968. Also, I have about 2,000 sheets of paper directly related to Hot Wheels production. These include original sketches from Hot Wheel designers Larry Wood, Harry Bradley, Paul Tam and others. Also the plans used for engineers to create the molds used in production.

Besides cars, what other paraphernalia is in your Hot Wheels collection?
Well, I’ve got perhaps 200-plus pieces of Hot Wheels memorabilia, from Jack in the Box restaurant cups, to watches, to Halloween costumes. Other paraphernalia includes original posters and gas-station banners promoting Hot Wheels giveaways, original proof-production labels for Hot Wheels products designed by [Mattel illustrator] Otto Kuhni from the late ’60s and early ’70s, along with original artwork by him. Also, some display stands. This category is the most fun to collect and harder to find than most Hot Wheels.

Hot Wheels Halloween costumes (courtesy Bruce Pascal)

Have you come across any rare Hot Wheels finds in 2008?

My best find included a clear interior Hot Wheels Redline Whip Creamer that had no side vents on the car. That means it was one of the earliest versions made before the mold was changed to add a new feature. I love getting a car that is different from all the others.

Your grandfather, Leo Pascal, was a legendary transportation historian at the National Archives from 1937-1962, and your parents are curators of the automobilia collection he started. How did this influence your mania for collecting?

No question, growing up in a house of automobilia collectors influenced me greatly. My father would show me toy cars made in Germany from 1918, plastic toys made in America in the 1950s and ’60s, and seeing hundreds of other car- related items made me see the value in being a collector. It is not just about having the items on your shelf. It is also the friends you make in the hobby, the places you traveled to buy an item and the history you learn about a piece. Collecting can be a great total experience.

See more of Bruce Pascal’s Hot Wheels collection at Redlineprotos.com.

Kevin Cook, a WorthPoint contributor, is still kicking himself for blowing up and setting fire to his first Hot Wheels cars.

Other stories by Kevin Cook:
Monster Mash discs: Graveyard Smash

The Truth Is Out There: X-Files Collectibles

Hot Wheels—Still Blazing at 40

Collecting Calendars: Fun New Year After New Year

WorthPoint—Get the Most from Your Antiques & Collectibles

Marilyn Monroe’s iconic “Golden Dreams” nude pose from 1952 is the epitome of calendar collectibles—with authentic specimens fetching hundreds or thousands of bucks—but the Big Bang of the modern calendar industry can be traced to the early 1970s when a handful of savvy publishers realized there was a mint to be made from what had previously been primarily a giveaway—and throwaway—advertising item you got free from the local Texaco.

Calendars go from throwaways to collectibles

Suddenly people were not only buying calendars featuring their favorite pop-culture fetishes but saving them, too, as collectibles. Often packaged in cardboard mailers or envelopes that encouraged hoarding, calendars from this era routinely turn up in online auctions in excellent condition at budget-conscious prices.

The following is an introductory primer examining some of the most time-tested and fan-favorite calendars of the last 30 years.

B. KLIBAN’S CAT—In 1975, Workman Publishing Co. released “Cat,” “Playboy” cartoonist Bernard Kliban’s flaky take on felines (“one hell of a nice animal, frequently mistaken for a meatloaf”). Showcasing Kliban’s tubby black-and-white tabbies engaging in anthropomorphic antics taken to surreal extremes, the book was a phenomenal hit, launching a merchandising juggernaut that included T-shirts, posters, mugs and, of course, calendars.

Workman released the first Kliban Cat Calendar in 1977 with new illustrations by the artist and some retreads from “Cat.” It became the bestselling calendar in the U.S. that year, a feat duplicated every year through 1981. The series later went to a larger, full-color format and today is published by Pomegranate, with the cartoonist’s widow (Kliban died in 1990), Judith Kamman Kliban, guiding the brand with affection and intelligence and assuring fans of always having a wacka-wacka year, as Kliban would say. Take a look at Kliban’s site.

MARVEL COMICS—Debuting in 1975 from Simon & Schuster, this calendar line brilliantly tapped into fanboys’ rabid interest in the Marvel mythos and featured sumptuous illustrations by a who’s who of comic-art masters, including John Romita (cover artist on most editions), John Buscema, George Perez, Herb Trimpe, Frank Brunner, Gil Kane, Gene Colan, Jack Kirby, Mike Ploog, Barry Windsor-Smith and many more.

The date boxes are replete with clever graphics and irreverent notes, quotes, plugs and milestones celebrating not only Marvel’s vast universe of characters but also its creators, known affectionately as the bullpen, whose birthdays are acknowledged throughout. Following the 1975 calendar, subsequent editions were themed: 1976—Bicentennial; 1977—Memory Album; 1978—Spider-Man (arguably the best early Marvel calendar, with gorgeous art panels and a special “anti-Spidey” edition of The Daily Bugle); 1979—The Hulk; 1980—Doctor Strange; 1981—20th Anniversary.

“STAR TREK” AND “STAR WARS”—Ballantine Books issued the first “Star Trek” and “Star Wars” photo calendars in 1976 and 1978, respectively. Ingeniously packaged inside sturdy cardboard mailers, the calendars were ready to be shipped to your favorite Vulcan in a galaxy far, far away (ye geeks, pardon the mixed metaphor, please). The 1976-1979 “Classic Trek” calendars feature the anal-retentive innovation of “stardates”—January 1, 1976, becomes 7601.01, for instance—in addition to traditional dates (which Trekkies are not known for having). Both calendar lines sport nifty center-spread posters devoted to the franchises’ iconic characters.

J.R.R. TOLKIEN—The storied history of collectible Middle Earth calendars dates back to 1968 with the publication of an ultrarare fanzine insert with illustrations by noted fan artist Tim Kirk. Amazingly, with the exception of 1983, there has been at least one Tolkien calendar issued annually between 1973 and 2009, with many years seeing seven or more distinct entities from major and independent publishers and Tolkien societies.

Ballantine Books offered the first “official” Tolkien calendar in 1973, featuring drawings by Professor Tolkien and Pauline Baynes, beginning a long association with the brand that peaked creatively with a trio of calendars (1976-1978) illustrated by fantasy legends Greg and Tim Hildebrandt.

Other notable Ballantine releases include the first “Lord of the Rings” movie tie-in calendar (1979), promoting Ralph Bakshi’s animated adaptation, and the Great Illustrators Edition (1981), with paintings by Douglas Beekman, Michael Herring, Rowena Morrill and Judy King Rieniets. Rare collectible editions with limited print runs include: Beyond Bree, first published in 1985 by the American Mensa Tolkien Special Interest Group and the Pant-Hoot J.R.R. Tolkien Memorial Calendar 1975, the first American Tolkien Society calendar. To see more, go to The Compleat Gyde to Tolkien Calendars.

“THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW”—Photo wall calendars devoted to TV’s most beloved sitcom date back to 1989. One of the rarest and most collectible is the 1992 edition from John F. Blair, a North Carolina-based publisher that released the first authoritative book on the show in 1981. The calendar is chockablock with Mayberry milestones and trivia compiled by Ken Beck and Jim Clark, longtime guiding lights of The Andy Griffith Show Rerun Watchers Club (TAGSRWC). Another rarity is the 40th Anniversary Commemorative Calendar from American Classics celebrating the series’ October 3, 1960, debut.

Day Dream Publishing, the world’s largest calendar company, has produced a TAGS calendar yearly since 2004. That first effort was dubbed “infamous and highly collectible” by TAGSRWC because every photo is inexplicably reversed! Collectors prize subsequent editions for similarly endearing production gaffes. For instance, the 2007 edition includes a still of Griffith and co-star Don Knotts from the feature film “No Time for Sergeants.”

Kevin Cook is a pop-culture junkie who owns more calendars than is normal for a grown man.

WorthPoint—Get the Most from Your Antiques and Collectibles

According to Mattel’s Web site, more than 15 million boys in the 5-15 demographic are die-hard Hot Wheels collectors, and the average enthusiast owns at least 41 cars. Originally priced at around 59 cents in 1968, Hot Wheels are still among the most allowance-friendly collectibles, selling for about a buck apiece.

The brand began developing by fits and starts in 1966 when Mattel co-founder Elliot Handler decided to go bumper to bumper with Britain’s Lesney Products and Co. Ltd., whose Matchbox cars had long dominated the die-cast toy-car market. Handler lured Harry Bentley Bradley away from his job building real cars at General Motors to head his design team, and a collectibles legend was off and running.

With Mattel research-and-development whiz Jack Ryan heading up a creative team of 80 artists, designers and engineers, the brainstorming began.

At Handler’s urging, head designer Bradley drew on his own customized El Camino for inspiration, imbuing his early sketches with muscle-car features—red-striped slicks with mag wheels, exposed engines, pipes, power bulges and other nuances that reflected California car culture and styling—that would become the brand’s hallmarks. The Spectraflame finish—a custom paint blend that gave the little hot rods their candy-colored panache—was also a by-product of Bradley’s Detroit background.

Early production sketch of Custom Fleetside by Harry Bradley (Image courtesy of Bruce Pascal)

Next, the team addressed the all-important playability factor, employing a bent-axle, torsion-bar suspension that let the 1/64-scale cars bounce like their full-size counterparts and wheels that turned independently on their axles, thanks to inner-wheel bearings. The nylon wheels themselves were slightly conical, with a thin ridge on the inner edge designed to reduce friction. As a finishing touch, red stripes emblazoned on the tires signified some, well, really hot wheels that would zoom 200 miles per hour—scale, of course—on the orange plastic track designed to showcase the cars’ speed and acrobatic prowess.

Numerous anecdotal accounts cloud the origin of the name Hot Wheels, but there is nothing muddy about the nascent brand’s classic flame logo, designed by Mattel graphic artist Rick Irons in 1967, and the pulse-quickening packaging, illustrated by freelancer Otto Kuhni.

Otto Kuhni’s original art for Hot Wheels Super Charger accessory (Image courtesy of Bruce Pascal)

Ira Gilford, another Detroit refugee who would become the brand’s genius bellwether, arrived in 1968 to replace the departed Bradley (who was reportedly skeptical over Hot Wheels’ chances for success) and oversee the remaining inaugural 16 car designs in time for their retail debut. With Kmart and Sears placing advance orders for millions of Hot Wheels, production in the U.S. was stepped up with factories in Hong Kong taking up the slack.

Hot Wheels store display, 1968 (Image courtesy of Bruce Pascal)

When the cars hit the shelves in the summer of 1968, it was clear that Hot Wheels definitely weren’t your daddy’s die-cast cars. Tucked inside plastic bubbles that allowed the cars to be viewed in all their souped-up, candy-colored glory, the “California custom miniatures” screamed “Play with me!” from their colorful blister cards, which also contained a matching collector’s button in the shape of, what else, a tire. Smitten boys plunked their money down for millions of what collectors would come to call the Sweet 16. The fabled Redlines era (1968-1977) of Hot Wheels had begun, and the toy world would never be the same.

Hot Wheels Sweet 16 - 1968

To commemorate the brand’s 40th anniversary and the production of the four billionth Hot Wheels car, Mattel commissioned a one-of-a-kind car—based on the so-called lost Hot Wheels car designed by Otto Kuhni for use on early packaging but never actually produced—laden with 2,703 multicolored diamonds and rubies. Housed in a custom-made case complete with mirrored bottom and rotating base—not to mention 40 more commemorative diamonds—the car, valued at $140,000, sold at auction in October for $60,000, with the proceeds going to charity.

Hot Wheels 40th anniversary jewel-studded car

“Hot Wheels: 40 Years,” a lavish coffee-table book with text by Hot Wheels collector Angelo Van Bogart and mouth-watering photography by automotive historian Doug Mitchel, also celebrates the anniversary. And of course, there are the cars. The Hot Wheels 40th Anniversary 40 Car Set gathers one iconic car from 1968-2008. The anniversary cars are also being sold separately.

40th Annivesary 40 Car Set

The world of Hot Wheels collecting has few rivals in terms of intensity and enthusiasm. One of the most joyously outspoken devotees is Bruce Pascal, a Washington, DC-area ubër-collector renowned in collectors’ circles for his cherry-picked collection of rare production and prototype cars, including a pink, ultrarare Rear Loading Beach Bomb prototype that inspires buffs to drop to their knees and chant hosannas on those infrequent occasions when he shows it off. He paid a hush-rush price for it in 2000 that is believed to be a record.

“In 1968, I had just turned seven when Hot Wheels came out, and I still remember the cars and the orange track like it was yesterday,” says Pascal, 46, a commercial real-estate agent who owns about 5,000 cars. “I think Hot Wheels are so enduring because they represent the automobile culture of our youth. What little boy did not like looking at cool cars growing up? For us youngsters then, Hot Wheels were like having the cars our dads or maybe our big brothers drove.”

Wife-friendly collectibles

As for the reason why grown men of a certain age still buy Hot Wheels, old and new, Pascal has a theory. “Buying one today reconnects us with our youth. And they are still small enough to have many in your house without taking up too much room—I call that wife friendly—they’re still affordable, and they’re remembered fondly by almost everyone.”

Pascal advises collectors to look for four important factors: condition, color, interior color and variations. “Always buy the best condition car you can find is the most important advice,” he says. “A perfect common car can be more valuable than a beat-up rare car. Always research the rarity, too. A pink Camaro is certainly 100 times more rare than a blue Camaro. And educate yourself on subtle variations. For instance, a dark interior Red Baron is far less valuable than a white interior Red Baron.”

Hot Wheels 67 Camaro

Pascal also warns collectors to bone up on their ability to spot fakes. “Fakes are getting better and better, and sometimes even the most educated collectors need advice from others.”

From the slew of Hot Wheels price guides available, Pascal recommends two. “Jack Clark’s ‘The Ultimate Redline Guide’ is considered by many collectors to be the best guide overall. For later years, Mike Strauss’ ‘Tomart’s Price Guide to Hot Wheels’ is the best.”

Not surprisingly, early Camaros—which Pascal confirms were the first mass-produced Hot Wheels— are very desirable. “A common blue car with a black top in mint condition can be found for $150 loose, a little over $400 in a nice package,” says Pascal. “But the same car in pink would be over $1,000 loose and in the thousands of dollars, easily, in a package.”

Pascal is also partial to Beach Bombs—blue-mint examples go for around $100 loose and $225 or more in the package. Rear Loading Beach Bombs are another excellent investment.

Rear Loading Beach Bomb

“But with less than 40 known, they rarely trade hands,” says Pascal, who ought to know. In addition to the fabled pink RLBB that he mostly keeps under wraps, he was lucky enough to find a second pink RLBB, which he sold several years ago for—are you sitting down?—$55,000. That same vehicle changed hands last November for—don’t get up yet—$70,000.

Kevin Cook is a popular-culture junkie and writer living in McDonough, Ga.

Other stories by Kevin Cook:
Monster Mash discs: Graveyard Smash
The Truth Is Out There: X-Files Collectibles

WorthPoint—Get the Most from Your Antiques and Collectibles

X-Philes, as the show’s devotees are known, couldn’t get enough of the paranormal adventures of Fox “Spooky” Mulder, a maverick FBI agent who never met a government conspiracy or beastie he didn’t believe in, and his skeptical, by-the-book partner, Dana Scully. The merchandising blitz of “X-Files” collectibles let fans plumb the depths of the series’ beguiling mythology long after the credits rolled.

As a guide to completists who absolutely must have everything to do with the show—and this writer is one of you—WorthPoint presents this hall of fame of “X-Files” collectibles.

McFarlane Toys’ Scully, Mulder & Attack Alien figures

FIGURES: McFarlane Toys’ “The X-Files: Fight the Future” action figures were a tie-in to the first movie spin-off, a box-office smash in 1998. Featuring serviceable likenesses of series stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, figures include Mulder and Scully (in both FBI and arctic garb), Attack Alien and Primitive Man. These are common on eBay at bargain prices in mint-in-package condition. (Another “Fight the Future” tie-in, Mattel’s Barbie and Ken as Scully and Mulder, is creepier than anything ever seen on the show. Trust me.)

The incredibly lifelike, limited edition “X-Files” figures unveiled by Sideshow Collectibles in 2004 quickly sold out and are highly sought after in the collectible aftermarket. The 12-inch figures—including Mulder, Scully, Assistant Director Skinner, Cigarette Smoking Man and Krycek—boast 30 points of articulation and come with a slew of nifty accessories. View the entire line at Sideshow Collectibles.

Sideshow Collectibles’ Mulder, Scully, Skinner & Cigarette Smoking Man figures

In 1997, sculptor Randy Bowen created disturbingly realistic “X-Files” resin statues for Dark Horse Comics in homage to characters from two of the show’s most popular episodes: the flukeman from “The Host” and the abducted smoking alien from “Jose Chung’s ‘From Outer Space.’” These high-end “X-Files” collectibles can often be found online for considerably less than their original $125-$150 MSRP.

Randy Bowen’s smoking alien & fluekman statues

TRADING CARDS: Three companies have issued highly collectible “X-Files” trading cards: Topps (Seasons 1-3, “The X-Files: Fight the Future,” X-Files Showcase Widevision), Intrepid (X-Files Contact) and Inkworks (Seasons 4-9, X-Files Connections, “The X-Files: I Want To Believe”). While all are desirable, Inkworks’ products, including numerous autograph cards and Pieceworks™ cards (featuring actual cast-worn fragments of clothing) are absolutely, drop-dead gorgeous. For more information, visit Inkworks’ site.

Topps “X-Files” trading cards

Cards autographed by Gillian Anderson, Bruce Harwood and David Duchovny

“X-Files: Fight the Future” cards from Topps

In 1996, USPC Games introduced “The X-Files” Collectible Card Game, which allowed X-Philes to “overcome conspiracies and governmental cover-ups as well as paranormal phenomena and supernatural activities as you attempt to solve the mysteries of ‘The X-Files.’”

BOOKS: The list of “X-Files” compendiums, exposés, scientific tomes, biographies and novelizations would fill a small library. Notable original “X-Files” novels include: Kevin J. Anderson’s three bestsellers, “Ground Zero,” ”Ruins,” “Antibodies” and Charles Grant’s “Goblins” and “Whirlwind.”

“X-Files” books

Nonfiction standouts: “The Unofficial X-Files Companion” by N.E. Genge, “The X-Files Book of the Unexplained” (volumes one and two) by Jane Goldman and, last but not least, “The Complete X-Files: Behind the Series, the Myths, and the Movies,” a definitive guide (published in 2008) by Matt Hurwitz, lavishly illustrated and featuring scads of bonus pullouts.

MAGAZINES: During the program’s heyday, the sultry mugs of Duchovny and Anderson peered out from the covers of just about every mainstream magazine from “GQ” to “Vanity Fair,” with “TV Guide” and “Entertainment Weekly” devoting countless features to the series. Memorable parodies appeared in “Mad” and “Cracked,” and the erudite British magazine, “Fortean Times,” delightfully examined the show’s mythos with a cocked eyebrow and tongue firmly in cheek. The most infamous—and arguably, most collectible—“X-Files” mag is the May 16, 1996, issue of “Rolling Stone,” with Duchovny and Anderson cuddling in the buff on the cover and series creator Chris Carter joining the stars inside for a photographic ménage à trois.

“X-Files” magazines

The quarterly “The X-Files Official Magazine” bowed in the spring of 1997 and enjoyed a long run of feature-filled, graphically stunning issues.

COMIC BOOKS: Featuring original stories and adaptations of series episodes, Topps Comics published 41 issues and two annuals of “The X-Files,” all with cover art by Miran Kim and interior art by Charles Adlard, Gordon Purcell and Alex Saviuk. The current, 38th edition of the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide values the premiere issue at $30 in near-mint condition. Topps collected the first 12 issues of the comic in a pair of trade paperbacks with Checker Book Publishing gathering issues 13 through 26 in a three-volume paperback series.

“X-Files” comics and trade paperbacks

In July 2008, DC Comics/Wildstorm released “The X-Files #0,” which segued into an “X-Files” miniseries with moody art (several notches above the Topps series) by Brian Denham and scripts by series alumnus Frank Spotnitz and comics legend Marv Wolfman.

WorthPoint: Get the Most from Your Antiques & Collectibles

The original “Monster Mash” single spent two weeks at the top of the charts in October 1962, providing a whimsical respite to America’s anxiety over the Cuban Missile Crisis. Reissued twice, the single reached Number 91 in 1970 and Number 10 in 1972. All are desirable collectibles, but the original 45, with its ghoulish sleeve, is the most sought after and can be found for less than $20 online.

The top 20 “Monster Mash” album, also from 1962, is the holy grail of dual Halloween/vinyl collectibles. The mono and stereo versions currently book at $150 and $250, respectively, in the Goldmine catalog of American records, although high-grade copies can usually be found online for considerably less. The rare LP contains the title cut and fifteen other tracks, all in the same party-hearty vein

“Monster Mash” was the brainchild of Bobby Pickett and Lenny Capizzi, fellow members of the Cordials, a singing group that gigged around Los Angeles in the early 1960s. A horror-movie aficionado and aspiring actor, Pickett had long since perfected his spot-on impression of actor Boris Karloff’s distinctive, debonair-but-spooky baritone and used it to show-stopping effect in the monologue portion of the Cordials’ performance of “Little Darlin’.”

Determined to fully exploit Pickett’s talent, the friends spent just two hours concocting the story of an impromptu monster party in a mad scientist’s castle and setting it to a simple, four-chord melody. Their demo caught the fancy of producer/arranger Gary Paxton, who recruited an all-star band (including the Ventures’ Mel Taylor on drums and legend-to-be Leon Russell on piano) to back up Pickett’s Karloffian homage. Legend has it the Crypt-Kickers, as the band was dubbed, recorded the song in one take.

Four major labels slammed the door in Paxton’s face. Undaunted, he pressed a thousand copies of “Monster Mash” (the title capitalized on the then-current Mashed Potato dance craze) on his own label, Garpax, and hand delivered them to deejays along the California coast. The song’s witty lyrics, boss sound effects and surf-rock vibe caught on in a flash, propelling the song to number one in eight weeks (with a little help from a contract with London Records) and making Bobby “Boris” Pickett a household name.

Song’s fans range from Boris Karloff to Bob Dylan

Over the years, artists as diverse as TV horror-flick host Zacherley, the Beach Boys and Mannheim Steamroller have covered “Monster Mash,” but Pickett’s version remains the Halloween mainstay. Boris Karloff paid Pickett the ultimate tribute when he performed the song on the Halloween eve segment of TV’s “Shindig” in 1965. Other famous fans include novelty-song maven Dr. Demento and Bob Dylan, who has played it on his XM Satellite Radio show. The song’s appeal was apparently lost on Elvis Presley, however, who reportedly dissed it as “stupid.”

“Monster’s Holiday,” a Christmas sequel to “Monster Mash” that reached #30 in 1962, was Pickett’s only other major chart appearance. Pickett toured tirelessly in oldies shows, introducing performances with the quip, “I’d like to perform a medley of my hit.” He died from leukemia in 2007 at the age of 69.

Resurrected every Halloween, this monster boogie classic stands alone among offbeat vinyl collectibles.

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