but it is the finest all around double shotgun ever made in America. If you don't think so, they were for all practical purposes, production line made for approx. 30 years and they have outpassed all other guns in relative value, in just more than 50 years since ending production, with just 30,000 produced. I see nice clean original VHE PARKERS for $2000-$2500 all the time, try to buy a clean early Model 21 for that.
I think you are mixing two different points here. People have written books about "the finest all around double shotgun ever made in America" and reached very different conclusions as to which gun fits that bill. Collectors not shooters tend to control market prices, esp. at the upper end of the market. Current market value is a function of collector demand and product availability, which may or may not be tied to quality. According to the PGCA website, Parker made 78,670 VHs.
I am not running down Model 21s, just pointing out that collector valuation is not always the same as intrinsic value.
