I didn't try to mis-understand anything. Not that I don't believe you, but I've never seen a Swiss SIG p210 for under $1200 anywhere, including living in Switzerland in the early 90's. The suggestion that a a pile of them showed up for $400 a piece is hard to swallow.
There was a very short period when a lot came into the US as surplus when the Swiss police were dumping their reserve supply of retired police pistols. Agencies of state often will not consider what collector prices are. They often just want to get rid of them, and often at very low prices. They did indeed come in at low prices for that short period, and the market was temporarily flooded with them, so prices were excellent, right around $400.00 at the store where I worked.
