What pre war issue has taken the biggest price plunge over the past 12-18 months?

[calvindog]

T201s and 33 Goudeys have gotten clobbered.

[Leon]

D304's are way, way down....as well as a plethora of other sets.

[iggyman]

What has been mentioned, plus I would include D322's. Heck, I've picked-up a few E103's lately at what I would consider bargain prices. A few years ago, I would have had a better chance of winning Teen USA, then finding any E103 in the $100 range.

Lovely Day...

[Orioles1954]

All I can say is that I sold my Tattoo Orbit set at the right time. SGC graded commons get peanuts now.

[Orioles1954]

Is this simply an economy issue or did the huge prices drive some collectors to sell their collections early, only not to return? In other words, has the pre-war hobby as a whole shrunk over the past couple of years?

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Orioles1954

Is this simply an economy issue or did the huge prices drive some collectors to sell their collections early, only not to return? In other words, has the pre-war hobby as a whole shrunk over the past couple of years?

There is absolutely no doubt a few high profile collectors (spenders) have got out of the pre-war hobby, or are at an idle at best. That being said, with the number of new registrations on this board (several today and as said, 60+ per month) it doesn't look to be shrinking to me. I think it could even be gaining some folks. Those folks might even be a little younger and not have too much discretionary income yet. My glass is half full though. Or maybe the new registrations are due to the new general chat section .....

[ChiefBenderForever]

It could be a shift going on where the older generation is slowly getting out and the new one is slowly getting in, and right now the majority of the new ones getting in are really only focused on T206 but will eventually branch out into other type cards. I remember it wasn't to long ago people were asking where all the E cards were and then a lot of them became available but will slowly end up back in collections making supply less. I am kind of surprised at the prices of Goudeys as it has always been a blue chip set. So another good question is will the T206 drop or go up, or just maintain. Will T206 touger back prices come back down, I don't see that happening !

[Bilko G]

Originally Posted by Leon

Or maybe the new registrations are due to the new general chat section .....

It could also be do to you posting on FCB lately and this site getting some positive publicity from it.

[egbeachley]

Originally Posted by Orioles1954

Is this simply an economy issue or did the huge prices drive some collectors to sell their collections early, only not to return? In other words, has the pre-war hobby as a whole shrunk over the past couple of years?

How about the FBI investigation keeping "true" auction sales down too.

[ls7plus]

I don't think cards that are truly rare and significant will ever go out of style in the long run. It's not likely that those baseball fans who are true students of the history of the game, for example, will ever forget Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays or Hank Aaron, just to name a few of the upper echelon hall-of-famers. Our hobby has followed the trends and patterns of the truly rare coin market (not the so-called investor-grade Morgan silver dollars in mint-state 65 or better, which in many cases exist in the hundreds of thousands or even millions, but instead truly rare and significant items, such as 1790's coinage, pre-1833 gold coins--most of which were melted--and trophy coins, as for example the 1894-S dime, 1913 Liberty head nickel, and 1804 silver dollar). That market became organized in the 1850's, over 120 years before ours did, and even truly significant rarities had their ups and downs over the years (see the extensive studies and writings by Q. David Bowers). When prices are down on items of this character, as Bowers said many, many times, that's a good time to buy! It does take some backbone to go against the flow and buck the market trends, however.

[toppcat]

Originally Posted by Leon

D304's are way, way down....as well as a plethora of other sets.

Leon-the phrase is "veritable plethora"

[rdixon1208]

My wife lost her job last month. My neighbor across the street lost her job yesterday. I also know of two local collectors that are out of work. I haven't been collecting long enough to know what sets are being hit the hardest, but I know what the cause is.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by rdixon1208

My wife lost her job last month. My neighbor across the street lost her job yesterday. I also know of two local collectors that are out of work. I haven't been collecting long enough to know what sets are being hit the hardest, but I know what the cause is.

Took my wife two years to find work to replace what she lost in December 2008.

[carrigansghost]

I was out of work for 14 months out of the last two years and sold some stuff to get by. Hopefully it will turn around and I do thank those that purchased those items. I believe it's the middle class working folks keeping the prices stable.
Rawn