Many of us are worried about the current financial crisis. You may think now is not the time to be buying antiques and collectibles. We would have thought the same thing, but what we have been seeing in the market recently is just the opposite. Prices at auction houses have never been higher, both in Europe and at home in the US. It is not only expensive items being bought by wealthy individuals, but many of the more ordinary items normally bought by middle class collectors. We have heard a number of collectors say they would rather invest their money into antiques than Wall Street or conventional investments because of their intrinsic value and the fact that historically they increase in value and are a good hedge against inflation and economic fluctuations. Besides, pulling out the prized collectibles is far more enjoyable than looking at your bank statement. Our sales are up and we are selling more high-end items than ever (most of which never appear on the website). The biggest challenge we face is not in selling our inventory, but rather finding quality pieces to buy at a reasonable cost. When attending European shows and auctions, we see ridicules prices being paid by Russian dealers and collectors- often many times more than similar items sold for only two or three years ago. While common with the new Russian wealthy class, it is not unique to them. At a recent California auction we witnessed one American spend over $100,000 on Cowboy holsters. It sure made us feel a lot better about the items we buy! We are certainly not encouraging anyone to spend their mortgage payment on collecting, but experience has shown us that any disposable income is often wisely invested in antique collectibles, and arms and armour has historically been one of the best performing. There is always a market for quality pieces.