Believe me I make my rounds. Saw one 2 months ago at a pawn shop for $350.
You gotta pound the pavement, never take the first offer, and don't ever let them see you sweat . When you walk in to a place that has one for $500 and your salivating all over yourself, well.... your probably going to pay $500.
"Not I", said the rat.
Got a 2 1/4 new for 450 last week here in NC (store) although prices at the show this past weekend seemed to be higher (lots of gouging going on there it seems).
One thing I noticed on the new one compared to an older model, they seem to have "ridges" on the sides of the hammer now, maybe to make it less sharp (as they've historically been)?