VERY early 870 -- four digit serial number -- questions

[bladeswitcher]

Today I picked up a old Remington 870 with the intention of chopping down the barrel to 18 or 20 inches for a home defense type firearm. When I got it home it dawned on me that I better find out how old it is in case I needed to enter it in my C&R bound book (it looked old enough to be nearly 50 years old). If I'm reading the Remington date codes correctly, then this shotgun was made in February 1950. Since the 870 was introduced in 1950, I assume that makes this one of the first ones made. I figured it was pretty early since it has a four digit (plus one letter) serial number (barely over 25xx) -- strangely, the barrel has a serial number too, and it matches the receiver.

Obviously, I'm not going to hack up the barrel on this shotgun now that I know how old it is. But I am curious about what I have exactly. Does early manufacture add significantly to the historical or collectible value of an 870. Yeah, I know, the newbies always want to know what something is worth. I confess, I'm curious. Is a low serial number something that a collector would pay a premium for, versus a later shotgun in similar condition?

A little more info . . .

Bluing is somewhat worn –– maybe 85-90 percent intact -- most of the wear is on the operating rods/magazine
Barrel has a few small spots of worn bluing, evidence of minor surface rust, a few scratches
Bore is pristine
Furniture has a few dings, scratches, but basically sound
Buttplate is original
It's a plain 870 (not Wingmaster), with the ribbed type forearm, plain butt (870AP?).
28" Modified choke
Barrel serial number matches receiver number.

[bladeswitcher]

Well, at $200 or so, it stays in the gun cabinet. At twice that, it gets a new home.

[bladeswitcher]

12 guage. 28 inch. modified.