Interesting Documentary

[Fulvio]

Just watched a BBC Docco from 2009, The Great Contemporary Art Bubble by Ben Lewis.

http://artdaily.com/news/36052/Ben-Lewis-Investigates-the-Rise-and-Fall-of-the-Contemporary-Art-Market

Interesting bit of journalism, even if you're not into modern art.

But what I found particularly interesting was the similarity between this field and our own branch of collecting. From market manipulations by producers, middlemen and some collectors, to the questionable quality of some pieces, to the ever-escalating prices defining the bubble, I saw parallels with coins. And I wonder if the eventual bursting of the bubble may be on the cards for us too. The recent dealer implosions may seem to indicate that's likely.

Hunt this one down and watch it.
https://eztv.it/forum/33417/bbc-the-great-contemporary-art-bubble-update-pdtv-xvid-ac3/
http://eztv.it/ep/48055/bbc-the-great-contemporary-art-bubble-update-pdtv-xvid-ac3-mvgroup/

Oh, and pay attention to the quotes sprinkled throughout. I particularly liked the first one:

"At particular times, a great deal of stupid people have a great deal of stupid money." - Walter Bagehot, Economist 1859

[emu666]

Just watched a BBC Docco from 2009, The Great Contemporary Art Bubble by Ben Lewis.

http://artdaily.com/news/36052/Ben-Lewis-Investigates-the-Rise-and-Fall-of-the-Contemporary-Art-Market

Interesting bit of journalism, even if you're not into modern art.

But what I found particularly interesting was the similarity between this field and our own branch of collecting. From market manipulations by producers, middlemen and some collectors, to the questionable quality of some pieces, to the ever-escalating prices defining the bubble, I saw parallels with coins. And I wonder if the eventual bursting of the bubble may be on the cards for us too. The recent dealer implosions may seem to indicate that's likely.

Hunt this one down and watch it.
https://eztv.it/forum/33417/bbc-the-great-contemporary-art-bubble-update-pdtv-xvid-ac3/
http://eztv.it/ep/48055/bbc-the-great-contemporary-art-bubble-update-pdtv-xvid-ac3-mvgroup/

Oh, and pay attention to the quotes sprinkled throughout. I particularly liked the first one:

"At particular times, a great deal of stupid people have a great deal of stupid money." - Walter Bagehot, Economist 1859

The prices for some of the more profile items such as holey dollars, early proofs and so-called specimens etc would be expected to contract (the market for banknotes has already retreated) to that "collectors" are willing to pay. The collapse of The Rare Coin Company has to a large extent removed pure "investors" from the marketplace and those "investors" stand to lose a lot when they sell their investment numismatic items.
One area of growth that I'd expect to continue is that in "grade rarities" - coins that may be common in low grade but rare in high grade. This has been driven by the PCGS set registry and the desire to obtain top pop  coins.