In the niche world for professional catalogers/researchers, could freelancers command a significant

Longacre

I consider the universe of numismatic researchers/professional catalogers to be quite a specialty in the industry, containing a very limited number of qualified people. In my opinion, the coins themselves don't always sell themselves. Rather, the descriptions of the coins, the professional opinions of the look of the coins, the background and history of the coin, the historical context in the description, etc., etc. is responsible for just as many sales (if not more), than just the pictures of the coins. In the sales process, the main thing that separates one auction firm from another is the presentation of the coins in the catalog and how well they are described. On these boards, there is frequent discussion of which auction firm presents the best catalogs, and which firms are lacking in their issues.

Becuase of the very small universe of good catalogers/researchers, and the fact that most of the good ones are employed by the big firms, does that in any way stifle or otherwise keep artifically low the premium that can be commanded by these individuals in a free marketplace?

I believe there are even fewer well-known and respected professional catalogers/researchers who are freelancers, so does the fact that the rest of the catalogers are employed at large firms, keep the prices of those freelancers artifically high?

Could the true value of such a niche profession ever be positively quantified unless all of the professional catalogers worked on a freelance basis, and there was competition among the firms for writers of the catalogs?