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1880nonsportsSometimes it's interesting to look at price guides from earlier times. Alan's book easily comes to mind. When it came out my friend Scott and I would LAUGH out loud at some of the prices and predictions of future "growth" potential. I'll offer some thoughts of my own later in the thread (poker night) if there is any interest in this. His book came out in the pivotal growth period for the hobby. The Copeland acquisitions and sale - the Wall Street Journal and financial groups recognition of the "investment" potential of cards - the Wagner - a healthier economy - a wealth of collectibles books - all served to mark what might be considered the beginning of a new age of collecting cards. Do price guides by themselves facilitate investment by allowing a comfort zone to people interested in investing? Do they eventually become self-fulfilling? Is there a value to using them given the volatile and frenetic nature of collectibles? I use the guides to judge RELATIVE prices historically along with realized prices of auctions and asking prices at shows to formulate what I will pay for sumptin..... I have many in my library - although more often than not it is for the ancillary historical information and checklists. Today's collector has a lot of additional information available to them. Price guides are just guides - the motivation for the prices may depend on the author's intent (selling/buying/self-aggrandizement). Alan was a self promoter. Not hard to guess his intent in publishing his guide. Burdick and his ACC is widely accepted on the other end of the spectrum (primarily for it's cataloging) as Jefferson's labor of love. I thought I read somewhere the he was resistant to even including prices but I'm unsure of that - I'll try and find the article. Anyone with any thoughts on the subject of price guides?