Age Old Question?

[Rossi]

Yeah...he is a American Pickers Junkie and we still enjoy going to auctions on the weekends. Cast iron toys excite him like a kid in a candy store. I can relate with the wwii third reich craze I have.

Thanks ... Does you dad ever watch the t.v. show American Pickers? They discover many vintage toys from the same period as your dad collects. I'm going to be 80 and I had may of these same toys back when I was growing up. I just wish that I had kept them or that my parents would have saved a few; even if they were broken.

[avenger]

When I ask about value, it's typically to find out what the reasonable range on something is. And, because I'm pretty new to this, I don't have the years of perspective to understand if I'm paying reasonable prices, or getting taken advantage of.

Now that I've been at it for the better part of a year, and have had the benefit of my friends here who offer so much guidance, I'm starting to get my own wings on some of these items. A lot of it is having seen much of it a number of times, or now knowing where to look. I still struggle with picking out the fakes, and like to go through medal threads and make a determination before reading what people who know have to say. I find myself still getting it wrong a good bit of the time, but find myself getting it right more often lately, even though I still often double check things here anyway.

So, for me, knowing pricing is part of the learning experience. And, for those coming here for help, pricing lays a foundation of trust and prevents these people from going elsewhere or to a slick dealer and giving up valuable heirlooms for nothing. Not too much unlike a lighthouse in the dark waters of any collectible hobby.