It may have been advertising hype, but I remember that Winchester's adds for the 59 claimed that its barrel was STRONGER than STEEL...The adds also said that the thin steel tube was wrapped with 500 miles of glass fiber...
I remember the retail price being $150...The proprieter of my local poolhall/gunshop would let customers take a gun for a small down payment and an agreement to pay a small amount per week or month....A gent took my M59 home ( new)and agreed to pay $5 per week for it until it was paid for..He paid $45 and then quit paying... The gunshop owner took the gun back and put it on the rack with a price tag of $105, the amount the original buyer still owed....I paid him a small amount down, can't remember how much, and then paid it off at $5 per week... Unfortunately, the days of doing business like that are long gone...<<sigh>>....