Originally Posted by wvdek
You're not really missing anything. People make outrageous claims on what a machine is "worth". The fact is, a machine is worth what someone else will pay for it--in this case, about 5 bucks. Every so often, a machine will go on Ebay for some major bucks because 2 people get in a bidding war. Then everyone thinks their Redeye is worth $1000. I have one treadle I have about $400 in, but that's because I bought a very rare VS II parlor cabinet from one dealer, and a beautiful VS II head from another, and I REALLY wanted it. It doesn't mean it's "worth" $400 (meaning I will get my money back out of it), it only means I happened to want it badly enough to pay that much.
As for the Modernage, it's a badged Japanese machine from the 40's or 50's. A nice enough machine, but anyone who thinks it's worth that much money doesn't know much about machines or antiques.