S74 pricing reversal

[BobC]

I'm not so sure there has been a true change in pricing between "white - ad backed" and "colored" version silks. Despite their uniqueness, I think there is a fairly thin market for both versions of them as their popularity is still nowhere near that of their counterparts, T-205 cards (or even T-202s), which have the same images. My further guess is that collectors interested in them most likely prefer one version over the other. So, what may seem like a change in the overall perceived value between the two versions of the silks may be nothing more than a few auctions where two different colored version silk collectors have butted heads and artificially run the price up for some desirable S74-2 silks they both need/want. I just don't think there are that many silk collectors now more interested in the S74-2 colored version.

You're always going to have cases where for some reason two people want the same thing and the price goes beyond what is normally expected. Because of that variable and the infrequency of S74 silk sales, looking at some recent final sales prices to me isn't a good, overall market indicator. What I think would be a much better indicator (though almost impossible to really measure) is what would a vintage collector be willing to pay for a particular white or colored version silk that they already had or didn't particularly need but, would be willing to pay just so that it didn't go to someone else for next to nothing. I've seen in countless threads where others mention putting down a bid hoping to steal an item or, to keep someone else from getting an item for below what they perceive the market value to be. Happens all the time. I just don't think a collector will put down a higher protective bid for a colored silk than they would for that same silk in the white version with the paper backing attached. Until that changes, I can't see a shift in higher value to colored version silks being true. Just my opinion.

Bob