Fred-You can be as mad as you like about whatever slight you must be feeling.
The fact is carrying a collectible anything around the pool the sharks live in is a form of fishing. Some people don't like being played, and a great many women despise men that seek to play them. Doesn't even have to be in the realm of collectibles.
But the story, as always relayed by another, is typical of the story that shows up on these gun sites every year or 18mos. "I have this thing left to me by... Deceased husband, Grandparent, old aunt, whatever, that just happens to be a verrry desireable something-or-other.
People trip over themselves to acquire it at the lowest possible cost as quickly as possible. Always sub-rosa. A regular frothing of the internet.
The pattern, and story line always looks like bait to me. Why here? Why not at the corner gun shop your deceased spent all the money at? Why not at his gun club? 3 hours of internet searching and account set up to ask what this thing-a-ma-bob is worth? It's putting the bait where the fish are.
It reads like any contemporary legend. The grain of truth. The cautionary tale. The rarity or uniqueness, the third party telling (FOAF), etc.
I have always figured (for several reasons) that it was always one of the lads trying to see how deep he could set the hook, and how high he could get people to jump.
This story has evolved to the innocent female victim (via third party telling) being nose to nose with the sharks.
I'm a firm believer in if it's too good to be true, it is.
To summarize, I believe playing people for fun is bad. Scheming to buy guns far below market value from the uninformed is worse.
