ISC, I think that you may misunderstand the allure of the Nagant revolver. It's certainly not an everyday shooter, but it represents an interesting bit of history.
Less than a year ago, they were cheap, but that was when gobs of recent refurbs were being imported. Those are all sold, so now it's all older guns and whatever is on the secondary market.
Sure, you could get a .38 for the same money, but that's an apples and oranges comparison.