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You're right, Gary, that's my thought exactly.

I have always been of the belief that "significant" historical baseball collectibles whose value typically falls in the $5,000 range to $50,000 range (these numbers are approximate, of course) will bring much higher sale prices at auction if the auction house starts the minimum bid at a significantly higher level. Of course, the starting bid has to be commensurate with the expected value of the item. The auction houses will insist that it is not the case and they will preach that the bidders will decide the final value of an item.

Once you approach the $100K mark and above, which very few items ever do, like a T206 Wagner, Baltimore News Ruth, etc., then I agree that the starting bid is not important and the bidders will decide the final price.