I always feel somewhat concerned when old saddles go for such high prices. I had a Brooks Swallow go for £100 on ebay recently. As much as I get a kick out of seeing the things I sell being so popular, it's always in the back of my mind that they are made of leather that has now had forty plus years of all sorts of treatment. I had a new Swift on a bike a couple of years ago which suddenly started to break up releasing spores (Is it acceptable to use that word?) from the hide, so I always bear in mind I'm dealing with something still organic. Metal is metal. It's either covered in chrome or rusty, but leather saddles. That's a different thing. I have made a policy of underselling the condition as I prefer the buyer to get a nice surprise not a bad one. But $500! And I have one in the shed. I'm going to have to put the insurance up!
While I'm on, Clive asked about Rotrax. Believe they are still going, but I can't find them in my cycle retailer database.