Prices/Value Discussion.

[AlexF.]

Art,
Please stop worrying about US Soviet awards market, it will remain strong for years to come, I assure you. The "talks" you heard or had are mostly "talks", and, as an example, the person, who is supposed to be ready to pay $2000 for transitional Star, could do so at any time for the last 2 years - there are 2 of them on internet right now, at lower price. So, as you can see, it's still the same: money talk, and ... walks:-)
Of course, you're right, and the prices for rare high-end items are on a rise in RF, with more and more collectors in Russia, who can finally compete against US collectors with their purses (and win, sometimes). But to dealers, it doesn't matter where from and where to, as long as there is activity. So, US dealers will also survive... And lastly, there are very advanced collectors in US, who possess items, comparable or even beating similar ones in major Russian museums, please don't think they will let their tresures go back...:-) On the other hand, the trend did change slightly, like I said earlier, and some mid.level orders like 2nd and 3rd class Sv, Kt or Hm do find new owners back in RF, but mind you, those are NOT "really rare awards ...", so that's fine:-)

Cheers,

Alex.