Into all that has been said (which I also agree with) I will throw in the caveat for modern custom jobs, the value will hold as long as the smith is remembered. In as much as their value derives its worth not so much from the quality of work, but in as much from the reputation of the smith. Ive seen many high quality pieces made from amateur to novice smiths that can blow away some of the custom jobs in quality, but due to the lack of fame of the smith demand extremely low prices. Of course smiths naturally build reputation from quality work, but there is naturally a certain level of inflation in price that does not reflect quality when someone becomes "famous". We bump ourselves into the future, where the name is no longer remembered, while the quality will be recognized, the lack of name may drop the price a couple of decimal places. How many high quality victorian era ,or whatever past repro tradition you wish, are often just dismissed just because of when it was made, vs the actual pieces quality. Into that light, throw in custom jobs of today.
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