Believe it or not 16ga Francotte knock abouts in great condition still sell for over 2k here in the US. I was surprised to see this one listed for 25% of that.
You are of course very correct to remind us all that what I wrote above for French shotguns, is to a large extent also true for Belgian shotguns (like Francotte), notably for the simpler and more "mundane" ones. Yes, true.
At least here, the old shotgun aficionados and collectors DIE. One after the other. Dead. And nobody new or younger comes through, no filling up of the ranks from below. No new young collectors who could start with 1 €uro guns (no, this is NOT a joke nor hyperbole). From those who commented still vividly and curmudgeonly on scattergun topics in the German online hunting fora of the early 2000s, most are DEAD now. Game over; knowledge and experience lost. No tradition of those memory gems to the next generation.
Carcano