I think we'll have to agree to disagree on this one. One of the longest running threads on this forum is dedicated to exclusively values of old soft focus lenses. The data that mined from this thread ends up on your website which has become a defacto price guide for soft focus lenses. If you look at the names posting to the big lens thread you'll notice that the majority are repeat/regular posters to that thread. Dare I say that most of them would be considered collectors ( whether or not they use said lenses is irrelevant - accumulation is collection). Granted this thread just reports prices, but I do think that the bulk of data as a whole is being used as a tool for determining prices for lenses offered for sale (and is being used by bidders at auctions to establish personal bid limits). If the bulk of soft focus lens sales where being driven by one off "users" I don't think there would be enough organization or interest to establish any kind of price guide (no matter how casual).
Regarding scarcity of cookes - rarity is not the only factor that determines the prices of collectibles. In my mind, overall desirability trumps rarity in determining collector value - cooke knucklers are desirable hence the high values.
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