I just found an entire 3-piece Ludwig Kit with those badges. All 3 have no serial numbers and the registered R. The kit is 3-ply 24 X 14, 13 X 9 & 16 X 16. I do question one thing. The air grommets on the Bass Drum And Floor Tom look newer than the on the 13. And there is some glue residue on the badge of the 13. It could be legit but I'm not sure. The seller always has some of the most amazing quality drums.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1970s-Ludwig-Black-Cortex-14x24-9x13-16x16-Drum-Kit/283604471818?hash=item420824d00a:g:e8oAAOSw7nJdcIeN

The rack tom has the darker green olive too.

I think 1,400 is too much for the amount of damage on them.

Snare badge not fake: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1976-LUDWIG-BICENTENNIAL-RED-WHITE-BLUE-PATTERN-C-VISTALITE-5x14-SNARE-DRUM/372773722905?hash=item56cb0b9b19:g:pV8AAOSwAnxcfCyM

Bass badge not fake: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1976-LUDWIG-BICENTENNIAL-RED-WHITE-BLUE-PATTERN-C-VISTALITE-24-BASS-DRUM/372773739592?hash=item56cb0bdc48:g:9LoAAOSw8tZchUEK

Some (not all -- don't even know if it is 10%) "Vistalites" aren't Ludwig made. They are RCI or other shell manufacturers and have fake badges. That's about all we know.

Can anybody confirm 1976 for those two? Is the claim based on the particular pattern? Was that Pattern C R/W/B only available in 1976 as part of the Bicentennial? Or is it just another specific year which a seller gives which could mean all sorts of things?

KCDrumDad are you Richard/Rick?

I contacted my seller (still haven't got it yet) seems like a nice guy, he said no date stamp.

I'm thinking Zenstat's points ring true and KCDrumDad mentioned he hadn't seen one with a date stamp.

Great info all!

This is his response to me; "Hi, thanks again for your bid. I purchased the drum from the original owner about 7 years ago. He told me he purchased the drum new in 1976. I took his word for it based on the strainer, the thin hoops and the pointy badge. There is no date stamp inside the drum. He told me it the snare could have been made for an endorser. They sometimes didn’t put serial numbers on the drums that an endorser would get if it was a special order from what I was told. That’s all the information I can give you. It’s a really great drum."

The badge is real Not a repo. The darker Olive may just be a lighting issue.

Personally I would say these shells are legit. Doesn't RCI re-enforce the seem with a piece of Acrillic. These shells don't have that.

I would like to know also If the claim the seller makes is true also. I'm Canadian so Our bicentennial isn't for another 48 years. I'll probably be dead by then HAHA!!!

Yes the darker/lighter Olive is lighting as far as I can tell because I've got photos which show a variety of shades. That doesn't mean somebody might not be able to see a systematic difference in person if he had 25 of two types to compare. But I think OddBall seemed to leap from a sample of one or two to generalizing to all BO badges in the way he wrote his post.

Since commenting further, Oddball seems to mean a way to tell 80s from 70s badges (since he speaks of "after the 70s") although even that isn't clear. I don't think he meant fake vs real badges. Perhaps he meant b-stock from 70s? Hard to say given the lack of clarity.

Something else to think u about. Great info Drumwhacker. I hope this is helping answer some of your question???

Excellent point.

Quite a mystery we have here.