I think the collectable gun market has paralled the housing market in a number of ways. If you look over the last 10 years the prices climbed much more than the general rate of inflation. Those who were buying more for an investment than for the shear joy of owning a high grade gun began to dominate the market and were buying guns at prices that were previously unheard of.
Once the housing bubble burst and the stock market collapsed so did the investment grade gun market. I can't prove it, but I suspect that most of the buyers of these guns are in the near or post-retirement age range. They saw the value of their homes and any stock portfolio collapse. Trying to sell those guns bought for investment purposes for less of a loss than selling off deflated stocks makes sense. But trying to realize the inflated prices is probably unreasonable.
The only market I follow closely is Lefevers. In that venue I have seen a good number of medium and low grade guns come to market with inflated prices. However, the real high grade guns in the hands of collectors (versus investors) has remained scarce.
