I remember the burnt out sandcast frame recently sold for c. $2k in CA. Sure the condition of these frame and cases wasn’t great but frames seem to be the harder of the pair to find now. Finding a matched pair (the owner mentioned that the bike was Australian delivered too which is a bonus) would be the closest a lot of people dream of over here to owning a SC. A lot don’t have the luxury of an import network or prefer to buy locally. A $12kusd Complete bike brought back to Australia won’t leave a lot of change from $20kaud. KP May remember the last time a SC hit the open market here but I know it’s been a while.
Long story short, I don’t think it was too off the mark even in the US market now. Prices have risen, definitively but I don’t think it’s just the pre-prods selling which has caused that. That magical 50th Anniversary is looming too which helps things along.