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economics

economics

a perfect market—marbles at dragon
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“And, as in other markets, collective madness could suddenly strike, and very large prizes were available to those with initiative. On one occasion, the acknowledged marble king came back to school after half-term with what must have been a large Victorian doorknob, an enormous hunk of glass, which I guess had no intrinsic value. But he kept his treasure in a sealed box, and allowed only occasional glimpses to a select few. Within hours, all the talk in the school was of this monster marble. ‘I haven’t actually seen it myself but Colchester says that Travis’s brother has seen it and it is huge.’ In no time at all it had acquired a mythical status akin to the Koh-i-noor diamond (also of no intrinsic value, and valuable only because it is prized for its rarity).”

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