"Untouched" Purdeys are pretty rare, unless bought by a collector and not a shooter--and gun collecting isn't as popular in Great Britain (they have less fascination with guns than we do, not to mention far tougher gun laws) as it is here. Compared to us Yanks, the Brits have always been far more in the mode of "preventive maintenance"--especially true of those that owned and USED high dollar guns. After the season . . . back to the maker for a checkup and whatever else it needed. In this country, seldom back to the maker (or a smith) unless something broke. Our guns--except the very high dollar ones--have always been regarded more as tools than toys; with the Brits, more likely toys than tools. So . . . compared to the Purdey that was used to shoot a lot of driven birds but not returned to Purdey for regular maintenance, vs one with the same amount of use but regular maintenance, I'm going to vote in favor of the latter holding a higher value. The Brits, plain and simple, don't have the same hangup on "original condition" as we do, as long as the work in question was properly done.
