There is more to value than mere money...
Ithaca 12ga SxS, 26" barrels, choke full/full, with stock measurements made to my Grandfather's request in 1909.
Market value is only a few hundred dollars, but its value to me is priceless. One of my deepest hopes is that eventually, my granddaughter (or grandson, if one comes along) will own that gun, and understand why it is more than just "some old shotgun".
We hunted squirrels and other things with it when I was a small boy, and when I was big enough, got to use it on my own. He "gave" it to me, when I was 16, with the understanding that I would not get possession of it until I was 25. He wanted to be sure I kept the gun, and kept it in the family. He figured my life wouldn't be stable enough to ensure that, until I was 25.
He was a smart old bird, and he was entirely correct. During those years, every time I got pinched and had to part with one, or more, of the guns I had bought, I got reminded of just how smart he was.
I lost my Grandfather, and gained a legacy, and a responsibility the year I turned 25. Now that I am a grandfather myself, it means even more.
No amount of money can equal this.
There are a lot of people with stories and heirloom guns like this. It is a special way of looking at things, and a way of honoring our loved ones that some people simply just don't understand. If you are one of those of us who "get it", I don't need to explain. If you aren't, I can't explain it to you.
The Colt Government Model that was my Father's, is another one, to me. One Father's day, after I had inherited it, I sort of "snuck off" to the range with it. Wife was a little ticked when I got home, not about shooting, about "sneaking off"...
All I could say was.."I took Dad's gun out and shot it..."
She gave me a look, for a moment...and then hugged me. She gets it, too!