redd44 - Lets forget those numbers for now...
And try out this initial draft of the...
Double Shelf Grizzly Date Identification Guide ...
1954 – Red Glass
1955 – Black Glass, 4" Tip Underlays, Decals
1956 – Black Glass, 4" Tip Underlays, Silk Screens
1957 – Black Glass, < 2" Tip Overlays, Silk Screens
Can you accurately match up your bow to one of the above descriptions???
"Underlays" are strips materials added to the belly side of the bow.
"Overlays" are strips of materials added to the back side of the bow.
Cosmetic features such as Decals, Silk Screen, Serial Numbers, Overlays, Underlays, or Coins, are aspects as of bow that can be easily added, changed, or removed.
Cosmetic features are generally not used to date bows, except when permanent features are nearly identical, e.g., form bow was built on, glass color, riser shape.
I'm not a Grizzly collector, but Bjorn and I have been talking about this for the past couple of days, so thought you would be the ideal initial trail case...
Let us know what you come up with.
As I have said many times, there are almost always exemptions to any guideline established to date Bear Bows.
The best guidelines are those with the fewest exceptions.