The dark side is, I believe, the false demand leading to gross overpricing for decent quality guns.
Serious collecting, involving taxonomy and thematic grouping etc is rare. Serious collecting also involves opening the collection to genuine researchers. Instead there is undisciplined hoarding for its own sake.
Investment is a myth. One thousand dollars in 1964 could buy an English best, worth about 10 000 today if in mint condition. The same sum invested in Buffet's Berkshire fund would be worth over 10 MILLION today. Historical Dow Jones figures show that if you invested in index linked funds you would be way better off than with collectibles for capital appreciation, while earning annual dividends too.
Also a simple legislative change can erase the value of any item needing a license to own. Ask British and Australian collectors about that one following legal changes in those countries.
