[COLOR="Navy"]Joe:

Slingerland did not start putting badges on its toms until June 1966, so no badges on your 1963 & 1964 toms is correct. A Niles badge with no serial number is correct for March 1962, serial numbers not appearing until October 1962. It is not uncommon for a Slingerland kit to have a spread of dates in its shell stamps. The stamps went on when the shell was made, which for many reasons related to how Slingerland controlled its shelf stock was often well before an individual drum was shipped out as part of an order. Sometimes the drums in a kit have dates that match very closely, sometimes not. There are many subtle clues that could tell us if your drums shipped together as a kit - but seeing the drums would be best. If your drums are an original factory kit, they clearly shipped no earlier than June of 1964. Otherwise, it is also very common for drums to have been put together post factory: recently, over the years, or often early on. For example, in the 1960s it was very common for the family of a young drummer to buy the drums in a kit in pieces over time - sort of an installment plan. Today, especially with the ready availability of box kits, the installment pattern is mainly a thing of the past.

A little cleanup, some Novus #2 plastic polish on the Sparkling Silver, a little semi-gloss black enamel on the BD hoops, tune them up and you have yourself a treasure of a drum kit to play!

DrCJW[/COLOR]