A mid level officer could afford to pay 50 guineas plus part exchange, which echoes the many orders in gunmakers' ledgers from armed forces personnel. At 100 guineas for a best SXS, the price was a fraction of the annual salary of an officer.
Back then there was far more handwork and larger inventories yet salaried people could afford best quality. Now, despite the cost cutting use of CNC prices are through the roof, they are in fact multiples of current officer pay. And that is telling.
Re tracing the officer's history, suggest you contact his regiment's historic record keeper. Most regiments have one.
