[Mauser720]

In every collecting endeavor there will be at least one authoritative book on the values of the objects being collecting. And in some collecting activites there are several books on "values." Often the experts do not even agree on the "wholesale" versus "retail" prices of collectibles. This is true of comic books, glassware, knives, stamps, coins, pottery, thimbles, furniture and anything else you can think of.

These books are only a starting point or a "rule of thumb" by which collectors can get some idea of the values.

However, I think we all know that how much a Luger is worth is actually a question of how much are we willing to pay for that particular Luger?

If a potential buyer wants a particular Luger bad enough, he or she will pay top dollar or even more than top dollar for it.

And conversely, if you or I are not particularly interested in a particular Luger, we will not purchase it, even if it is a bargain.

In other words, it is the collecting community that determines the real value of a Luger, regardless of what the books may say.

I once asked a dealer what a particular item was "worth" and he said something that has always stuck with me: "It is worth what you are willing to pay."

I took this to mean that there is often a difference between what something is worth, and what someone is actually willing to pay; and vice versa.

So in summary, I would simply suggest that the books on value do make a valuable contribution to our hobby; however, they are only one part of the whole "value" equation.

Mauser720 - Ron