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Posted By: scgaynor

The reason that prices on memorabilia are so up and down is that the market is relatively thin compared to cards. Using Barry's example of Baseball Books and 19th century documents,take one or two guys out of the marketplace and it can create a huge impact. The market is growing though in area's like photography where there are enough collectors to make sure that prices are pretty stable and if anything, there is pretty constant growth.

Collectors do tend to hold onto really nice pieces. Unlike most cards, once a piece is taken out of the marketplace, it may be a generation before it is sold again. With that being said, I have probably seen more great 19th century pieces in auctions in the past 6 months than in the past 2-3 years previous.

The rule with memorabilia is that if you like it, buy it, because you may never see it again.

Scott