I have been slowly assembling a vintage collection, and this list will be invaluable to me.  I appreciate the effort you put into it, and will use it a resource in the coming months as I try to assemble more pieces to the puzzle.

I am new to the forums and relatively new to vintage.  I think there are two big barriers to the vintage format.  The first is cost, which has been thoroughly discussed.  One that hasn't been discussed much in this thread (if at all) is what I will call the myth of vintage.

I have a friend who loves vintage.  When I started playing Magic again (after a several year hiatus), he would tell me about vintage decks, how they worked, and how great it would be if we tried to assemble some vintage decks and play in some tournaments.  I immediately dismissed him, not because of cost, but because of myth.  The myth around vintage is that it's a turn 1 win every time and that even if you get a good draw, you can't win against a player with a super combo deck.

My friend started sending me articles (all SCG articles by Stephen Menendian), and slowly my impression of the format changed.  Sure, I saw the power decks with thousands of dollars worth of cards, but I also saw cards that I used to play with and cards that I still owned.  I read tournament recaps and saw that not only did most vintage games last several turns, they could last just as long and longer than some standard/extended games.  My interest in the format grew to the point now that I am out on ebay buying up any cheap auctions involving vintage staples so that I can slowly assemble a vintage arsenal to play with and play test against.

I believe that cost is the biggest inhibitor to the format, but what I call myth plays a big role too.  I never would have taken an interest in the format had I not discovered that it wasn't a format of turn one scoops.  I think if you ask a lot of casual players, or even your typical FNM player, they believe a lot of these myths about vintage and that holds back their interest in the format and denies the format a small but steady flow of new players.

So how does my post relate to the topic of proxies in vintage?  Well, using myself as an example, the myth and stigma of vintage is what kept my interest down, not the cost.  Being allowed to play with 10-proxy vintage decks gets me into the vintage game sooner, but it wouldn't have kept me out of the vintage scene altogether.  If no proxies were allowed, it just means that I would take longer to save money to gather the cards I need.  I have to believe there are others out there like me as well.

My final thought is that what if Wizards sanctioned vintage events with proxies, and players are limited to how many vintage events they can play with proxies?  Say you can play with proxies in a sanctioned vintage event 3 times per year (excluding a big event like the world championships).  This would allow those who want to dabble into the format to proxy, but they couldn't play in every sanctioned event.  Those with power can play in all events, adding (or at least maintaining) value to power.  Would this be a feasible idea or would it be a maintenance nightmare for Wizards and tournament organizers to keep track of?  Or is it just a bad idea altogether?