Datu Ivory Kris

[Andrew]

Originally Posted by BSMStar

This is just crazy... to have a not overly spectacular layered blade with flaws, rehilted (at least sometime in its history) with ivory… stand back and watch the eBay insanity play out. Not worth the closing price, even as an investment... and to be clear, I am not blaming the seller on this. I'm talking about the shark like insatiable feeding frenzy, even when a minnow is placed in the water.

This is just hurting all of us who are trying to collect for the culture, heritage and history.

I agree completely. Normally, I'm a big advocate for the free market, and more than willing to allow that market to set prices where appropriate. However, there can come a point where manipulation (intentional or otherwise) affects the intrinsic, non-monetary value of an item/group of items. Once that happens, collecting for the joy of learning and, yes, preservation of culture and heritage, take a back seat to lucre. I think that is a real shame.

Unfortunately, I was probably a force in driving the prices up on dha in recent years. I recall a point, perhaps 2 years ago, when I was considering a bid that was significantly higher than I would ever pay because I was caught up in my desire to acquire. I checked myself, bailed out of that auction, and have since changed my buying/bidding habits.

Don't get me wrong, I'll still bid aggressively on stuff I really want. I suspect when certain bidders see me place a rare bid these days, they either drop out or prepare to do battle.