Check this out on ebay! People must have money to burn I guess.
http://cgi.ebay.com/1st-schwinn-stingra ... 7C294%3A50
http://cgi.ebay.com/1st-schwinn-stingra ... 7C294%3A50
Oldest Schwinnn recorded in history
- Thread starter BankerRAt
- Start date
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I read an article about this bike a while ago. The guy found it at a used sporting goods shop for like $350, posted it on the schwinn forum and people went nuts. It got so crazy that the mods erased any threads about the bike. I also read somewhere that a collector in Japan or China offered some $100,000 USD for it. But the owner said he would rather it stay in the USA. I'll try to find the articles and post them up.
I'm super curious as to what his reserve is, and how high it will go. I think I would have done a better job of advertising it though, professional pics and good documentation at least. It is the oldest stingray afterall. :?
I'm super curious as to what his reserve is, and how high it will go. I think I would have done a better job of advertising it though, professional pics and good documentation at least. It is the oldest stingray afterall. :?
Found it:
http://hamptonroads.com/2008/06/beach-m ... collectors
So much for donating it to a museum I guess.
http://hamptonroads.com/2008/06/beach-m ... collectors
So much for donating it to a museum I guess.
This bike is worth 3X times the current bid IMO.
I know some of you Rats pooh-pooh the 20" 'Rays, but this bike is the holy grail of Stingrays.
Think of all the abuse we give our bikes only after a long summer, then imagine a bike 46 years old with all original pieces ncluding tires.
The true story behind this bike has gotten twisted by the major news media to suit its particular angles.
As I remember the real story, "Tom" the present owner recalled how he obtained the bike. It went something like this: He goes into a Va. Beach bike shoop for something or other. Starts a discussion with another customer about Sting-rays, and this other guy says he had an orginal Sting-ray from 1962. Tom informs him that the Rays started in mid '63, but this other guy disagrees and insists on '62 and can prove it becuse he still has the bike. Tom cajoles his way into seeing the bike at the guys' house and discovers it's a '63. Better yet, the owner encased it in WD-40 to presevre it over the years. I guess that stuff is amazing because it preserved even the original tires from dry rotting away.
Long story short, Tom gets the bike for a song, then supposedly is offered $100 grand for it over the 'net, but prefers to offer the bike to the Smithsonion for free provided they display it. They can only offer to house the bike in the museum's cavernous basement, which doesn't do anyone any good.
So he's selling it. Sadly, his wife died of cancer a few years back, so half the proceeds are going to cancer research.
To me, the stories on how we acquire our bikes are sometimes more exciting than having the bikes themselves.
Spin
I know some of you Rats pooh-pooh the 20" 'Rays, but this bike is the holy grail of Stingrays.
Think of all the abuse we give our bikes only after a long summer, then imagine a bike 46 years old with all original pieces ncluding tires.
The true story behind this bike has gotten twisted by the major news media to suit its particular angles.
As I remember the real story, "Tom" the present owner recalled how he obtained the bike. It went something like this: He goes into a Va. Beach bike shoop for something or other. Starts a discussion with another customer about Sting-rays, and this other guy says he had an orginal Sting-ray from 1962. Tom informs him that the Rays started in mid '63, but this other guy disagrees and insists on '62 and can prove it becuse he still has the bike. Tom cajoles his way into seeing the bike at the guys' house and discovers it's a '63. Better yet, the owner encased it in WD-40 to presevre it over the years. I guess that stuff is amazing because it preserved even the original tires from dry rotting away.
Long story short, Tom gets the bike for a song, then supposedly is offered $100 grand for it over the 'net, but prefers to offer the bike to the Smithsonion for free provided they display it. They can only offer to house the bike in the museum's cavernous basement, which doesn't do anyone any good.
So he's selling it. Sadly, his wife died of cancer a few years back, so half the proceeds are going to cancer research.
To me, the stories on how we acquire our bikes are sometimes more exciting than having the bikes themselves.
Spin
Rat Rod
Owner & Founder
If it is the real deal, then yes....it should be worth a heck of a lot more than that.
Not sure how anyone could totally verify a claim like that, but....
I must be too used to looking at what all the 80s BMX stuff sells for. :roll:
Not sure how anyone could totally verify a claim like that, but....
I must be too used to looking at what all the 80s BMX stuff sells for. :roll:
That's what I was thinking also. I can respect his decision to sell it, and that's great if he donates some of the sale to cancer research. But what a lousy layout and pics.karfer67 said:
What the about the oldest Schwinn of any kind? Is there a bike considered to be the first ever made?
karfer67 said:
actually everytime i see a serial number online i think to myself "are u nuts?"
thats not info you should offer to the public.
"hello police, my bike was just stolen. its a red 1963 stingray, serial number blah blah blah, i think i just saw the bike on ebay"
now your stuck proving the bike isn't mine.
Id make a rat out of it all this money crap has screwed up way to much. Ride it and have fun. :mrgreen:
I'm a little surprised at the quality level of the e-bay ad due to the huge influence on bidding it can have. Why not include a link to the web article? Stage the photos a little better versus "this is a bike in my backyard look.." doesn't take much effort to hang a white sheet and diffuse some lighting. Why not pay some photog a couple of jundred to take professional shots?
Sorry to sound pessamistic. long night..I do wish him the best of luck though.
Sorry to sound pessamistic. long night..I do wish him the best of luck though.
Very interesting bike and story. But is it really "worth" $100,000? Or even $1,000? Some people say worth is whatever someone will pay for it. I look at inherent value. That bike is still a collection of steel tubes, some rubber and plastic. If it were made in 1965, it still has the same inherent value.
I guess it's like looking at the VW beetle. There were millions built and sold (like 21 million) over its lifetime, but what if you stumbled upon the very first 1938 beetle. It's just a car, but it's the very first of its kind. I bet that car would be appraised for a pretty penny.
I just have two last thoughts about this bike:
1. If the seller's intention was always donating a portion to cancer research, why not sell it for $100,000 to someone in Japan? Who cares if the bike stays in the USA, the money is going to a great cause.
2. It's going to be hilarious if someone pays a fortune for this bike, and then an older stingray pops up down the road. :lol:
I just have two last thoughts about this bike:
1. If the seller's intention was always donating a portion to cancer research, why not sell it for $100,000 to someone in Japan? Who cares if the bike stays in the USA, the money is going to a great cause.
2. It's going to be hilarious if someone pays a fortune for this bike, and then an older stingray pops up down the road. :lol:
