As far as auctioning it on ebay; it's tempting but I don't know how I could accurately and honestly represent it without getting myself in big trouble with the ebay counterfeit police. Without it having any definitive markings or any documentable provenance, about all I could list it as would be "old explorer look-alike with quaint story" and I tend to think that wouldn't be adequate to attract any $erious bidding. (any other opinions out there on this aspect?)
So anyway, I don't have a clue of what kind of price it might bring at auction under these dodgy circumstances but, unless it was a few hundred or more, I'd still be more inclined to just finish it and play the hell out of it. It's beautiful and meticulous construction imply it's probably worth more to me to actually play it and enjoy it for what it is. Then again, I think I'm just chicken about putting it on ebay and possibly jeopardizing my topnotch seller ratings there by doing so. I have several cool vintage and other good instruments I DO plan to auction on ebay in the near future to raise much-needed "fundage" so. I wanna keep my "rep" squeeky-clean there
Again, thanks all; I admit, I haven't yet made up my mind (though I'm leaning a bit more towards just playin' it!) but these discussions are helpful to me and, as such, much appreciated. More feedback is definitely welcome so please share your thoughts. If anyone here has interest in "adopting" this wayward orphan or wants more info, I could post a few pics somewhere. While any serious offers would likely be considered, what I'm really hoping is for the solution that sounds and "feels" right to me. I'm just hopin' I'll know what that is when I hear it!!