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I had a horn that, like this one, had a spot ground/sanded off. Turned out it was an ex military horn and they ground the military part (USN, USQMC, etc) off. But this one certainly could have been “borrowed” from a school also, as Bloke said.bloke wrote: ↑Tue Jul 23, 2024 9:08 am Gretsch Guitar and Drum Company dealers (combo shops) seemed to have access to inexpensive French-made band instruments such as Couesnon brass and Lafayette woodwinds. I'm thinking that Gretch imported those so that those combo shops could have access to instruments to rent and sell to band students.
My first guess, then, would be that this baritone was made by Couesnon.
LOL... The brown area suggests to me that sometime in the past a person borrowed this instrument for an extended period of time from a school.