On a slightly different note, I saw post 3444 (Walker belly gun), and it reminded me of an auction that I attended a few years back, north of Toronto.
It was an original Walker, minus the barrel, but intact otherwise. It was "Company C", I believe. I held it, and you could tell that it was long-ago modified as a somewhat large concealed weapon. Bidding started, and I made it to a $15,000 bid, before I chickened out (what, a real Walker in a small Canadian auction? It was quite a shock). The buyer was a young lady, I believe, who said that she was the go-between, and it was on its way to the U.S. I just heard recently that it's still in Canada, and that a gunsmith in Woodstock, Ontario bought it, and added a barrel and other cosmetic alterations! What a great pity. I guess that he was looking to make a big profit by selling it in the States after he fiddled with it. Well....it appears to be still up here. I don't know whether he's selling or not. The general consensus of our collectors group is that the guy committed great sacrilege, messing with it as he did.
Cheers,
Bill