emcom5@ the second link you provided was a Hungarian mosin. Sold at $370. Condition looked about the same as the one I am looking at, at least by the pics.
All three of those were Hungarian, and the only completed auctions for Hungarian M44s on their system. It is a pretty small sample, but the cheapest one went for over $200.
Do Hungarian mosin typically sell for more? I know they are somewhat more rare but that doesn't mean they are better.
Better doesn't necessarily come in to play when talking about collectable firearms, and despite the opinions of some, that is what they are becoming. The less common examples generally bring a little more money than the more common, assuming like condition.
A week ago, I looked around, at availability of 91/30s at some of the major wholesale distributors, Century was out of stock, Classic Arms was out of stock, AIM was out of stock, SOG out of stock, JG Sales had them for $120.
Type 53s are still around for just over $100, a couple places had M44s for ~$180, both wholesale.
Today, nobody has base 91/30s in stock, the few M44s available at AIM are gone. Samco and Rguns have bent bolt 91/30s for a premium over the standard, AIM and Classic have original PU snipers for ~$600, Rguns has PU Snipers for $800, and aside from the Chinese Type 53s, that is it.
The days of $69 91/30s and $99 M44s are gone.
Yep, some people will still pay $165 for a nice Mosin, when they live in the middle of nowhere with no access to shops that stock them.