Those rifles were never cheap. If you picked it up 30 years ago unless you got a "special deal" it must have been a pinch on your pocket book in comparison to other milsurps at that time. Some of those were in rough condition but mostly were Very Good all the way to Excellent. When they first came in, there were only a few of them. The ammo was impossible to find and from what I saw, they almost appeared to be a mixed quality sample lot. The first ones I saw were in the late sixties. I remember Lever Arms getting about a half dozen of which only one would have been considered in the top VG range. All were well taken care of with shiny bores and came with attached slings. Very similar to the recent K31s that are here now. I remember Lever putting them in the racks for $75 in 1968. That was more money than the average worker cleared in a week back then. Yes I know some people made more but they would have been in the top 20% of earners.
I would have loved to have had one as the Steyr quality is always obvious. I was still in school then and just couldn't come up with the money let alone justify going into debt (which I have always abhorred) over. I opted for a Steyr made Kropatschek Colonial rifle instead as it was priced at $15 with a box of 50 rounds thrown in. The Krop wore all sorts of rough use marks but no Drill Purpose marks which so many were relegated to. It also had a nice bore.
OP, I would say that your example is easily worth between $1200 to $1500 in the shape your pics suggest. That would be to a collector of fine Swiss issued firearms. The K31s we see on the market today are a steal IMHO. The big drawback is that most people are purchasing them to shoot them and I can fully understand why. They also view them as cheap surplus and do not render the proper care to them they deserve.
I also understand your reasons for letting go of a fine rifle you have had the luck/foresight to purchase. Life catches up with all of us sooner or later and we have to make choices. I am slowly starting to let go of the pieces I no longer enjoy as much as I once did. I also will pick up something that intrigued me at one time or another and still piques my interest.
Anyway, go well and thanks for passing on the torch to people that will appreciate the opportunity to own and enjoy the beautifully made rifle that almost but not quite copies its excellent Austrian counterpart.
