northman wrote:

I am not so sure of this. I think we might also be seeing the big general book collectors targetting high-end tolkien. There is no lack of bibliophiles who can spend $100000 on a book and not notice it on their account. The recent heritage auction saw many classics going for the expected prices with buyers definately knowing their stuff. Some authors broke the mold though and tolkien led that race. It was also interesting following the Herbert items.

I think two things can be true at the same time, you may want something to collect it, but also see as a smart investment. If you spend that kind of money on an item however, I don’t think someone would not notice the difference on their balance sheet, that seems unrealistic. These millionaires and billionaires see making money as part of their way of life. They don’t just spend money to spend, that’s how they made it in the first place.

I also don’t think when it comes time to part with these items, people who do have these kinds of funds to spend have them for a reason because making money is a driving force for them. When it comes time to offload they will be looking to make money on them.

Bottom line, this trend is not a good thing for the Tolkien market IMO.