Takes me more than a couple of words like Jack, tho I agree;-) My two cents .. fix the loose stock as you are currently doing and have the checquering recut at the time of refinish. Shoot it that way some & see how you feel about it. If the bbls are thin on finish & it is bothersome to you, have them reblued during the next session & do the trigger guard too if it is worn. A Sterlingworth doesn't look bad to me with no color and a polished action from honest carry wear. If its pitted or otherwise marred & bothers you then have it redone to suit your taste, but keep in mind that case color is/can be subject to wearing off again after time when carried afield &/or rubbed a lot. I suspect that gloves with their embedded dust [very fine grit] and trace tannins, much more so than acid from hands, have worn many an actions' case color away and been responsible for the wonderfully fine burnish left.
On a Sterlingworth it is up to you. The 20's are worth much more than the 12's but both are and will likely continue to appreciate. A couple of grand today buys what in the way of a double(?), a clean used BSS and they are not that uncommon and reasonably plentiful. The same money in your Fox may give you much more pleasure and it will not be readily available at every show. IMHO, you will be more likely to recover your costs on the Fox, with the proviso the work is properly executed & you don't incur an unreasonable expense getting it done. A properly refinished desireable gun will always have worth and should not degrade value as a shooter. I personally don't see a Sterlingworth as a rare or collector gun, rather it is one you should enjoy using. Just my thots, perhaps something of value.
Remedy the loose stock regardless.
