There is a balance between rarity and price that favors cards that are rare but not too rare. I'd suggest that a steady trickle of material into the marketplace boosts collector interest, whereas owning a 1 of 1 card does not do as well. A card has to be offered for sale often enough to whet the appetites of collectors, yet not so often as to be perceived as commonly offered. Absent enough copies of a card in circulation to inspire people to pay attention, the card will become an obscurity, interesting but not as highly regarded as a more readily located 'rare' card. The T206 Wagner is a great example: there are quite a few of them relatively speaking--especially as compared to many other rare cards--yet the prices keep rising as the supply expands. The excitement builds the desire, which builds the price for the next one, which fuels further desire. Wagner is by no means the only example. As noted above, though, as stuff comes out of the woodworks, some cards are re-evaluated and decline in value or do not appreciate as much relative to others.
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