Star ?

[Orion]

What does a star stamped in a Bear riser near/over the serial number mean?  I've seen this question answered before, but unfortunately, I can't remember the answer.  "A mind is a terrible thing to lose."  

[Bjorn]

To my knowledge it means the bow was sold at a discount. Salesmen carried the stamp as part of their kit.

[Orion]

Interesting.  Might they be sold at a discount because they were "seconds", or just because salespeople were carting them around for a while and may have put a few nicks in them, or maybe they became last year's models. How about the number 2 stamped in the riser?  Does that mean a second?

[Bjorn]

According to what I have gathered the number 2 pertains to a defect; multiple defects got multiple number 2 (interesting they picked 'number 2') LOL.
The defects are often very hard to identify today-but it is stuff like painting limbs in order to hide stress lines-Bear became experts at that.
My understanding on the star stamping is the sales folks had some leeway when it came to price reduction and used the stamp to justify. Orion, the example you gave of last years models is very likely IMO.

[Orion]

Thanks, Bjorn.

[Pack animal]

Hello
In his article on collecting Bear Kodiaks Matt Dickerson explains:  "Bear had serious trouble with the riser wood causing cracks in the glass, presumably due to the wood not being seasoned properly. Many of these bows were returned to the factory, refinished for free and stamped with a star. These generally have no serial number as they were no longer covered under warranty."
I owned a 1961 Polar which was stamped with a star over the serial #, and currently I own a 1962 Kodiak Special which is so stamped.