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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;kaparthy, post: 24415, member: 57463&quot;]Actually, there are many such areas of collecting.&nbsp; One of the reasons that the Great Collections, especially those like Pittman and Ford, stand out today is that the numismatists back then bought what no one else was much interested in.</p><p><br /></p><p>About 10 years ago, I was asked to attribute and price a couple hundred Tibetan coins.&nbsp; I went to the library and got some books on the language and of course sat down with the Krause SCWC.&nbsp; After a week or so, I called Colin Bruce II.&nbsp; I did not understand how coins so rare could be catalogued so cheap.&nbsp; He said that as interesting and rare as these Tibetan coins might be, they have to compete against all the other coins in the world that people want.&nbsp; Demand (or lack of it) carries more weight than supply.&nbsp; (Since then, the price of tangkas and shos has gone way up; and I am not confident that even experienced dealers always know old coins from new.)</p><p><br /></p><p>Of course, markets react.&nbsp; Our host says that prices on hammered gold are going up.&nbsp; I have heard the same thing about Conder Tokens.&nbsp; There is a general price rise, of course, during times of inflation, which is pretty much the constant state.&nbsp; In addition, mature collectors tend to move into those markets where they find bargains.&nbsp; As a consequence, bargains disappear and prices rise, and collectors move on to the next area.</p><p><br /></p><p>The other side of the coin is that nice material is always nice.&nbsp; There are differences between sharing a market, being in a crowd, and following the herd.&nbsp; Still, if you like something for valid reasons, a small increase in price should not be a deterrent. Incremental increases seldom go away.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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