Thanks for the background, Jim. I've bought a few Parkers from you in the past few auctions and have been pleased with all of them. I can't say your appraisers are flawless but they do a great job and I consider your auction house the best there is for guns. As I wish to stay married I won't be bidding on the Czar's gun.
I'd like to toss in my 2 cents on the comment "and as a result ordered other Parkers this, indeed, would have been a tremendous coup for Parker, and certainly would have gone a long, long way stimulating a considerable amount of international sales for the Parker firm."
I understand the basis for this statement and as you note "I can't disprove it" but it's also quite possible the Czar would have taken a glance at the gun and said "Wow, very nice" then tossed it in his gun room with the dozens of other fine guns he must have owned. He might have never used it, or maybe he would have put it in the "Guest Use" rack. My point being that while any of us would flip out over this gun he might well have just gotten a momentary rise out of it. We all know what F. Scott Fitgerald said about the very rich.....
