 Added to the abuse of reissues was the manner of selling these [the Oregon Trail pieces] and several other later issues of commemoratives. The price was often higher than the dollar per coin usually asked in the past, although most of the commemorative deluge came during the depression years. A few pieces at a higher price would not have been too bad, but on a large number of types, the cost to collectors added up. Then, too, many issues were sold only in sets. Coinage was generally small and sold out in only a few days. Speculation was rife — original cost was low to what it might be a short time later if you unfortunately missed having your order filled ... collectors who had not managed to obtain single specimens from the original source were forced to buy it at higher and higher prices from speculators — it soon became a regular round robin of higher and higher prices.
