I didn't mean to direct that at you personally, john. I am sure you know much that I don't. You have been at this far longer, far more seriously and have "inside" knowledge I don't. It is just from the small corner of the collecting world I see -- the Chip Board, the Club Board, eBay, I see far fewer Caribbean chips, playing cards, etc. than I used to, way fewer Caribbean collectors (many have sold off their Caribbean collections), rapidly dwindling sale prices and a lot less posters on the Chip Board, especially new collectors. I have seen values go way down in other areas, but I don't want to single anyone out. More valuable rare stuff maintains its value, but common, even scarce and some rare outside of Nevada, have had their values drop dramatically. The club membership is way down. All of these, to me, are signs that the collecting community has been shrinking significantly. I don't see the signs you do otherwise. Yes, the research and insights on the board have been tremendous. Other than Terry's book, though, the guides seem to have stopped for any collecting area outside of Nevada and California, with the exception of the phenomenal players card guide. No Caribbean guides since Archie stopped his Puerto Rico guide, no riverboat, no Oregon/Idaho/Montana guides, no dice guides, no AC guide, no illegal guide, no Colorado guide. You get the picture.

Does anyone else think this hobby is healthy and going in the right direction right now?

Michael Siskin