I have one of those Marlins, it used to be my grandfather's.
He was initially given it to protect the truck farm they were hired to work during the Depression. They were given a place to live and a small portion of the crop as pay. When it was eventually foreclosed on, my grandfather was given the gun in lieu of crops. He was able to get a job right away so did not need to sell the gun. The gun ended up with one of my uncles before my grandfather died so it wasn't one of them stolen after his death. I ended up with it upon my uncle's death a year ago.
The 410's popularity is based in large part on nostalgia. Many of my generation and older started out with a 410 and the "idiot stick" bring back fond memories as the mind tends to forget all the bad. I suspect future generations will not see the 410 in the same light and its desirability will fall off.
I have three 410s, the Iver Johnson single shot that I started out with; a standard Browning Citori that I bought in the early 1980s; and the Marlin I inherited. The first still sees some use shooting pests in the yard, the Citori is mostly a target gun now that the woodcock season opens after grouse become legal game. It gets occasional use on doves and will often use it for dog training when I'm the gunner and bobwhites are being used.
The Marlin is a safe queen. It sits in the Buffalo Bill museum as a research subject. I don't know if it is on display or in a back room but I do know it going there opened room for another gun! I've sent a few guns there, it kept me from having to buy another safe which my wife would have quickly noticed.
