2025 Solomon Islands 1 oz Silver Hot Wheels™ Proof Coin

Envisioning a die-cast car to outshine the popular English Matchbox brand, Elliot Handler, a co-founder of Mattel, Inc. created Hot Wheels™ in the spring of 1968. Handler sought to have a line of toy cars to command Mattel's boys' division after witnessing the overwhelming success of Barbie dolls and seeing his son, Kenneth play with British Matchbox cars. Originally, Mattel designed "hot rod" or fantasy cars. Hot rods are usually American cars that might be classic or modern and that have been rebuilt with large engines that are optimized for speed. This fresh take was in direct contrast to Matchbox cars that were typically small-scale replicas of production vehicles. The Hot Wheels™ brand was an amazing success. They absolutely disrupted the die-cast car industry from 1968 onward, forcing Matchbox cars to rethink their tired concepts, leaving them struggling to regain lost ground. Mattel went as far to hire automotive engineers to work on their designs and even developed innovative, fantasy racetracks for kids to race their models on. With powerhouse marketing campaigns and non-stop ideation, Hot Wheels™ has churned out innovative scale model cars and accessories for over 55 years and counting.