It's very hard to predict what the future will hold for oil and gas collectibles or in different collectibles markets in general. One reality that seems unavoidable in the hobby is prices will more than likely level off and stop drastically increasing the way they have been. Personally, I beleive all quality conditioned Petroliana items should retain their value based on the fact they are becoming more difficult to find as time goes bye. In regards to the discussion of music collectibles and petroliana. I think both Dave and Mark are correct in their observations of the dynamic the two different hobbies and the enthusiasts that collect the items hold. Personally, I tend to lean more towards Daves outlook. Although music does touch more people and probably has a larger group of enthusiasts collecting. I feel their is much more stuff for people collecting music related memorabilia. You have posters, CDs, tapes, records, tshirts, concert ticket stubs and backstage passes, autographs, instruments, bumper stickers, and on and on. Plus, you have all the different styles of music, endless amounts of different bands/performers, and many different sub categories within music that a collector could focus on. Sure, Petroliana has its fair share of items out there. But, it seems to me collectors seem to center on a couple major groups of items. Cans, signs, and pumps. At the end of the day, this causes much more competition for the limited desirable items and will keep the items values steady or possibly rising. Were as with musical collectibles, the demand for a large amount of the items isn't there. Which ultimately keeps the market from being competitive. Just the way I see it. I definitely could be wrong.
