Tamara, you are correct, these rifles may never become $1,000+ valued rifles. However, these rifles made it possible for so many more people to own a piece of history from a time that should never be forgotten. These rifles are interesting in their own right. There can be no question these rifles saw service on the Russian front, which was hellish and devastating for those on both sides of the front. The pristine, $1,000+ rifles may have never been fired in battle while many of these RC rifles clearly have been. In fact, I would be willing to bet even before these rifles were reworked, they likely were already in "non-collectible" condition. Just my thoughts.