A busker is not a beggar. Until about 1900, the expenses of an instrument (or dish, etc.) were mainly due to the material, not the work (unless wealthy customers insisted on the very best craftsmen, as in northern Italy).

There have always been fans of folk music among wealthy people, who could afford expensive and showy instruments - to be played by employees or freelance musicians. On the other hand, it would not be wise to play an expensive instrument in a pub.

Performers of the present-day Folk scene should choose their instruments according to their "message". As we observed many times, Cecil Sharp played on a Steinway conveys an image not to all listeners' taste. This problem is about sound and cultural history, not primarily about money and "poshness".