Some of us will remember when better-off tourists would offer someone a small fortune for
a pair of patched jeans, possibly with home-made flares. I always assumed this was driven by a desire to vicariously live the hippie/bohemian life.
   Buying a distressed instrument seems to me to answer the same need.
It says the person is a bit of a "character" with an interesting past.
Buying a second-hand one with signs of wear, I would regard as being in a different category.
Here the instrument is the one with character.
And let us not forget the canny purchaser of future collectibles, again belonging to a third category.
By the way, I can't see any redeeming quality in a rusty cone on a resonator.