What should one expect to pay for a barn find large drum Ruckstell axle?

If you find one in decent condition for $500 you've got a deal. Mostly I see Ruckstells priced from $700 to $1200. TT Ruckstells are a different story. I saw one sell at auction for $10, and I was given one free.

I remember back in the early sixties, Chris Eggsgard had three or four Ruckstells for sale at $35 each, and the guys were standing around wondering if they should pay that much.

My take after working a few, between $500-800 and would be pushing it at $1000 or more and that might still be high. If it has a long snout shifter maybe add a $100 to that. It's a crap shoot what is inside and you may still need to replace most everything inside and/or the tube could be bent. If it's been gone thru, was it done to new or just cleaned and reassembled? There is a 26/27 on ebay now, the opening prices is over $2000, way way too much.