A very good reply, actually. As extrapolated, it means every firearm the forebears I encountered from the time I was a wee little guy were 'poor boys.'
Nobody owned a fancy gun, and everything showed wear; most probably were acquired third-hand anyway, but it doesn't matter. A Winchester '97 shotgun is designed to bring in the pheasants and squirrels, not look fancy -- or so my dad thought.
And so it has gone with a great many legacy guns.
Right now, my father-in-law has a legacy cheap Parker SxS. How cheap? Has a damascus barrel; was bottom of the Parker line, and mostlikely the one sold mail-order. Has a damaged lock and hammer on one side, because of which my son is working to get custody of the arm so he can have it fixed. Has barrel dents; it sat in the henhouse for close to 30 years, 'cause for a long time they were chicken-ranchers. Don't knows how many coyotes it has shot, but I'll bet it has thumped a few into the promised land.
Real value? Not a lot. Sentimental value? Huge. It's been in the family for more than a century.
Bill