You neglect to mention the guage of the gun.
26" in 12g or even 16g are on the rarer side. Especially in 12g. In 20g, a 26" length would be relatively common.
I assume you have a 12g gun. In that case, the 26" length would be a special order length since common lengths in 12g would be 28 or 30.
Now, just because they were special order, does not mean they are VERY rare. A number of them were likely ordered. The Parker Story lists in the back a table of "short barreled guns" made. The authors define short barreled as being 24" or less. This is because they did not deem the number of 26" guns made to be low enough to include them in the list of 24" or shorter.
To summarize, from a collectibility standpoint, a factory 26" barreled gun would command a premium due to its relative rarity as being a special order, but that is only if it is collectible conditon. From a shooting standpoint, it may not carry a premium since many people do not like 26" barreled gun due to handling characteristics and such.
I personally shoot the heck out of a factory 26" barreled DHE 12g.
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B. Dudley
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