Investors in times of inflation seek to hedge their investments against inflationary loss. High inflation over many years helps account for a considerable growth in the market for small and cheap antiques such as depression glass, beer cans and baseball cards. This interest has been accompanied by a movement of the auction houses into the market to hold auctions for items that previously were unprofitable. As a low value antique, the first auction for the lead toy soldier, held by a major house, Phillips, occurred in December 1978. Auctions have since been held quarterly with the number of auctioned items increasing quite markedly, particularly after Christie's entrance in the market in June 1981.