As to the Parker question, they cost more than the other American classics to start with, and there's been collector interest in them for a very long time. Somewhat comparable to the Win 21 craze, but there are far more Parkers out there. Just to do a comparison, Parker vs others (1940 prices), all with DT/AE:
Parker VHE: $140
Fox AE, LC Smith Ideal: $78
If what you're looking for is a shooter with factory 2 3/4" (or even 3") chambers and modern dimensions, the best bang for your buck IMO is in some of the newer used offerings: Ithaca SKB, Miroku or Italian-made Charles Daly, V. Bernardelli, older "good name" Spanish (Uggie, AyA, V. Sarasqueta--especially BLNE's). Just to name a few.
