That's an interesting subject. My feeling is that the hobby's median population is toward the older side, and I consider younger collectors like myself to be somewhat uncommon. That's not to say there are not quite a few younger collectors, as there are. The collecting population is, though, likely decreasing with time.
As with the butter churns you mentioned, the classic car collecting hobby has followed an age-based trend. As the people who grew up with 1920s cars grew smaller in number, the value of Model A Fords and such has fallen. The same goes for 1950s cars. Currently, it's the 1970+/-2 cars that are really hot, value-wise. Collectors of those cars are in the stages of their lives where they are more capable of spending money and buying the cars they remember from their younger years.
So, with the petro hobby, I expect prices to fall in the future, and the number of collectors to decrease as well. That's good for the people left in the hobby, but not so good for the hobby's long-term growth. It's also the reason I feel that investing in petro collectibles might have been wise in the past, but will continue to become less lucrative. It's important that we try to get more younger people involved in the hobby, and it is our duty as collectors to work toward this when we can.
I don't buy to invest -- I simply buy items that fall into the categories of "I really like that" and "I can afford that."
Just my thoughts...
Wes
