There were two productions of the Uncle Henry 172UH. The first, marked Schrade-Walden 172UH was produced for a short time (called "Bear Skinner") between 1971-1973 and then discontinued. Years later it was reintroduced (called "Wildcat") for yet another short run, 1990-1993 before being discontinued once again. I don't know when yours was made without seeing it.
As the short runs indicate, it wasn't very popular compared to other hunting knife patterns made by Schrade, so they aren't nearly as common today as many others are, particularly in new-in-the-box and complete with papers condition. But this lack of market popularity doesn't reflect it's utility for it's intended purpose, a hunting knife. I am sure it was quite adequate in that function. And Schrade was renowned for producing quality knives at fair prices.
The handle material is Dupont Delrin molded to simulate stag.
Value? Speaking as a collector, I would like to see the knife wind up in someone's collection and preserved. Speaking as a hunter, I'd say use it, though knife preferences vary from one hunter to the next. You might sell it to a collector for enough money to buy a knife your son would find more preferable for modern hunting carry and use, or even trade it for a pair of matching slightly used knives for you and your son.
