Are you a collector or a shooter? If you are looking at it from the collectors vantage point then they guns have no real collectors value. They are in a way a faked example of a high condition gun. If you are a shooter they they have left the range of shooter grade guns, sound gun with little finish, and you have a gun that looks great but is not fish or fowl.
To me they enter the ego range of gun. How much money do you want to put into a gun that you can be proud of shooting. Not as a rare collectible, pristine factory original example, but as a real nice looking example of what the gun should look like if well cared for. Kind of like a 40 year old with full plastic surgery make over, complete implants and a nice red dress. Not to be confused with a natural 25 year old with the same equipment but a very nice package all the same.
I do not care for all the hype about 100% restored guns. They are not factory original and are hence not rare. There may be 1,000 high condition LC Smiths, in near perfect condition. There a 100,000 others that can be made into that if you want to have them refinished to 100%. Cost money and time, but most could be restored. So from a value point they have to be in the 90-95% range at tops. Problem is that it cost more than that to have many of them restored to the level that you are talking about. So the seller has to try to get his money out of the project gun and has to ask for 98-100% money for the gun. Some pay it and some do not. If above 90% Bluebook price I would just keep looking. For just a few dollars more you could buy a mint gun instead of a refinished gun. But when you get right down to it 90% or lower condition guns are much more fun to me. I get to shoot them and do not have to worry about every little new ding that they get. About like my well weathered spouse, whom I love and would not trade for any high condition other spouse.
