I kinda agree with Lowell, but from a different angle.
The cottage industry of "artisans" who strive to reinvent Winchester and Parker history is robbing these lines of much of their allure. Do I really want to spend a lifetime studying correct Parker configurations and finishes so I can still be taking a $30k risk? And as fast as I can learn what's "correct", the level of sophistication among refinishers continues to improve at an even faster pace.
My mentors, who could recognize real original configuration and condition, are dying off. I am amazed at some of the guns that get passed off as originals at prominent auctions, gun shows, and shops. And it's getting worse.
Nowadays, I'm alot more comfortable buying field grades and/or high grades with honest wear (yeah, I know what "distressing" means). The fact that this lowers the acquisition price is just a bonus. I can't understand the economics of some of the primped-to-NIB field grade post-war M12s I've seen; but I don't think the specialists in "distressing" have been mucking these guns.........yet.
Sorry for the rant.
Sam
