As something is worth what someone will pay, it is a parallel axiom that it is the decision of the traveller whether to go down a certain path- in this case one of restoration. Since your opening comments preclude a discussion of those merits, and you seek to limit input to value of the particular firearm, I have little to offer. I know little of these guns, having handled just one in my lifetime. That said, I take a slightly different approach: if the seller can respect it for what it once was, and is "noble" enough for that sake to see it restored, perhaps he would give it to you for what he paid and let you start on that journey. Hopefully he didn't pay much, maybe a couple hundred.
There is the anecdote out there, perhaps only myth, of the wealthy collector who added an exquisite Strad to his inventory of art and antiques. A gifted violinist visited one day, and the collector graciously took it out for the musician to see. "May I play it, sir?" He answered, "Of course," and the master violinist proceeded to make it sing as its maker intended. Turning it over and around with a last glance and forlorn farewell, he handed it back to its owner. "Oh no," the rich man said- "it belongs not on display or confined to a case, but in hands capable of realizing its potential. It's yours."
My .02, and hopefully the owner didn't pay much more than that.
Mike
