Ottoman Shamshir Pictures

ariel · 8th April 2007, 06:27 PM

It IS superb, no doubt! Wootz and all...
Enjoy it for its beauty, but do not be 100% sure about its investment value: better things lost their value during depressions....
This is not gloating or bad omen: we are all in the same boat. As long as the markets are strong and disposable incomes are high, people "invest" into antiques. When (not "if") the economic situation gets bad, collectors sell their stuff for peanuts just to buy bread. Not only antiques: jewelry, homes, land, everything. You cannot eat wootz, paintings, rare manuscripts or diamonds...
This was true in Weimar Germany, US in the early 1930s, Russia in the 1990s and all around Europe after WWII.
The appreciation in the price of antique weapons is an illusion: as long as one is not a dealer with constant turnover, one sells something only to buy another, more expensive item and keep it. We never see profits, just upward-spiraling accumulation of things that eventually may have to be sold for a song....
That is why collecting is a "noble madness"

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes
Switch to Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Threaded Mode

8th April 2007, 06:27 PM	#2
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	It IS superb, no doubt! Wootz and all... Enjoy it for its beauty, but do not be 100% sure about its investment value: better things lost their value during depressions.... This is not gloating or bad omen: we are all in the same boat. As long as the markets are strong and disposable incomes are high, people "invest" into antiques. When (not "if") the economic situation gets bad, collectors sell their stuff for peanuts just to buy bread. Not only antiques: jewelry, homes, land, everything. You cannot eat wootz, paintings, rare manuscripts or diamonds... This was true in Weimar Germany, US in the early 1930s, Russia in the 1990s and all around Europe after WWII. The appreciation in the price of antique weapons is an illusion: as long as one is not a dealer with constant turnover, one sells something only to buy another, more expensive item and keep it. We never see profits, just upward-spiraling accumulation of things that eventually may have to be sold for a song.... That is why collecting is a "noble madness"