Value is the most common question anyone asks. A good guideline would
be "two stones for a dollar". Of course there are many exceptions,
but it is a good place to start. One can expect to pay twice that price
in a Madison Avenue antique shop in New York City. Bargains can still
be found, but far more sets are overpriced than underpriced. I cannot
tell you how often people ask about a GK-NF set # 4, of 47 stones, being
offered for US$200. The set # 6, with 105 stones and all three books,
is worth only about $100! The new sets sell for about $150 a set ($140
plus shipping from Land's End). So one can find old sets cheaper, but
to do so you will have to haunt the flea markets. Overall I consider
the $150 price a good buy and the Land's End set a good place
to start. (Unfortunately the name in the catalog is misspelled
as "Ankler" and there is no hint that the series goes on to larger sets by
means of supplement sets.) For questions about specific values, please
fell free to contact
me. A long (but
not complete) listing of the estimated retail price of Anchor
sets is found in Schroeder's Collectable Toys Price Guide. Since I
provided the informaion for this listing, e-mailing me to see if I differ
with that book is not likely to result in much new
information.
If you are interested in buying one of the sets of the renewed production, you will find the first set in the Land's End Holiday Catalog for December (item # 4125-2G1X). I have no connection with this new venture. If you want to find out about distribution in the USA, you will need to e-mail Jos Ars (in the Netherlands) or check the text under Rudolstadt, just above the picture, for the information I have been able to glean on this subject.
For those who would really like to find out a lot more about Anchor stones, I have written a book about them. (I just got tired of either looking up the same information again and again or trusting my memory on specific details such as dates and names.) It is expensive, $70 ppd, because I print it myself on my PC and color ink is expensive. The book undoubtedly contains far more information about Anchor stones and sets, the Richter company, etc. than you'll ever want to read. This book is a lot of work to print (I print about a dozen at a time, in either English or German), so please don't think I am urging you to buy one.
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