I never had much interest in the Mosin Nagant. In my youth, they were still in Communist service, and very rare on the US market.
With the general fall of Communism in Europe, boat loads have been imported and sold at rock bottom prices (foolish Yankees will buy ANYTHING, if its cheap!).
I got an M38 from an old fellow, along with an SMLE (the WWII one, No.4?), both look new, and I gave $150 for the pair. The M38 I got has the slickest working bolt of any MN I have ever handled. Its actually in the class I consider acceptable, for smoothness of operation.
A few years later, a friend was cleaning out their "closet" and gave me one of the 91/30 long rifles.
They fill a spot in my milsurp collection, but I have no great enthusiasm for the design. It is rugged, nearly indestructible, and reasonably functional, intended to be effectively used, and survive use by barely trained peasant conscripts. Like many Russian / Soviet items, metal finish is good enough (even sometimes excellent) where it needs to be, and rougher, sometimes crude where it has little effect on function.
As far as being a valued military collectable, the MN is still about at the point the Mauser 98 was some 40-50 years ago. Common as, and only slightly more expensive than dirt.
That is changing, as time goes on, and bulk supplies and pricing are drying up. The $75 MN a decade ago is now $150 or better. And, eventually even the bulk surplus ammo will dry up too. As a historical collectable and example of history its a fine item, and currently not too expensive.
If you've got as a truck gun /beater, its fine, rugged, and will do the job. There is a great deal of appeal for that, although, for a little more money, there are still good used rifles with more modern designs available.
The cheap surplus .303 British, 8mm Mauser, and even .30-06 has dried up. Eventually the 7.62x54mm will as well. Quality ammo in that caliber is already about on par with most common commercial cartridges, for cost.
I'm quite certain that when I do finally get tired of my MNs taking up space, I could sell them, and get more dollars for them than what I paid. Actual value of the dollars will probably be about the same....
nothing special but a nice rifle never-the-less! A couple years later, I have this: