[ham]

I must agree with Alex. That is, if one is a wise buyer-- checking the market, comparing similar examples through auction catalogues, etc. before buying.

In many decades of active collecting I have had few rude surprises.
If, on the other hand, one is incautious one reaps what he sows. As for inexperience.... call it the price of tuition in the hallowed halls of this "noble madness." As Ariel notes, there is of course little accounting for political/economic upheavals, but then few collectors are so thoroughly invested in antiques alone that the possibility of overextension through a surfeit of krises, patas, etc. severe enough to result in total financial ruin seems a touch remote... much likelier such a collector would suffer loss of spouse first, which if nothing else might give him pause to reflect on his collecting habits....

Superlative sword here, complete with knot. Don't find them nicer than this.

Ham