I believe that, due to impulse and replacing a number of guns I sold a few years ago, that I have purchased a LOT of guns in the last 2-3 years than most people. I have concentrated on doubles during that period. I haven't been buyig really premium guns but nice or ynique guns. My impression is that doubles two years ago had dropped to bargain levels. Since that time I have noticed, IMHO, that the bidding perssure on these guns has risen and availability has dropped significantly. There are always fluctuations but right now I see the market is up. It does seem to me that the availability of really top end collectable guns has risen sharply during that time. If you read the ads, I suspect that the bulk of these are not random "finds" but sale of entire estates and collections. The result of this seems to be a sharp upward jump in prices for these guns. This seems to be counter to the theory of the aging collector vs price. I believe it is due to pent up demand taking advantage of the situation. It may be that this is a permanent repeating cycle or it may just be a short term reaction to a change in market. I think it is really impossible to determine the future in collecting. Compared to the time I graduated from college and bought my first old double, prices are comparitively sky high.
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