Hey George

He's had this thing on e-bay for over a year, and it still looks as 'RATTY' as it ever did. Also @10 inches, it isn't going to give you the compression of foreground to background that a 16 inch Gundlach would give you, that is real close on something and the background way out of focus.

The barrel looks ratty, the iris blades look ratty, so don't buy it.

The Gundlach Achromatic Meniscus is essentially the Pinkham Synthetic so if one come up on ebay get either the 16 or 18 inche(I have the 16 1/2 inch for about $350.00 and change w/barrel in good shape and glass pristine)

The lens it too short, too ratty, and too 'as is'.

Good luck whatever you decide.

Yes, I think this guy has shot himself in the foot. What does it cost to keep a BIN running as long as he has? He started out at $599. As Jonathan indicates the value on these lenses goes up semi exponentially as the coverage increases. I paid the same price for an equivalent Spencer Portland the other day and when it came it had a nasty haze on the rear surface. Luckily I got the seller to take it back. I think this lens is probably worth the $399 the guy is asking and if he'd just auctioned it in the first place it might have gotten more. Somehow we lose interest in the item after it's re-appeared so many times. It's like a car that sits on a lot unsold for a year. Still if you want a 5X7 meniscus this is a good one.