I have the rifle, my son has the carbine. The rifle has a 26 inch barrel, the carbine has a 20 inch barrel. Other that a shorter magazine tube on the carbine, that's the only difference. Both were bought used, and had been used in the field. Many commemoratives have not, even so a lot of the ones that were put away unfired have finish issues.
They shoot well, hard to say if they shoot any better than a standard Winchester 94, but at least they don't have that stupid safety, and the octagon barrel is a plus. My son killed his first deer, plus a few more and a few hogs with his. I haven't hunted with mine.
My son was born in '87, I bought his rifle while he was still an infant. It was $125. I bought mine in the last 4-5 years, for $450. I would think $479 is a fair price for a decent example.