thanks guys! as i was reading through these posts just before i recieved the piece, i was becoming, well, quite dismayed! those of you that followed up with a reply have stated essentially how i feel about this purchase! with the possitive outlook, im hoping the number is one of the many reasons d.j. metioned. and on the negitive, it is hard to believe the seven is athentic! especially, that it looks like there was a "4" smugged, rubbed, or fadded out to the lower left of the number! as dan said, if you look close at the picture on ebay, you can even see it there! oh by the way ive received the light! being the teacher that i am, your not going to believe this; i brought a microscope home to give a closer look! it revealed nothing!
did see a lot of grit though. anyway, i will be in st augustine come march! can't wait to hear what bill surmises!??? do you think he's recieved wind of this? oh yes, i did contact a questioned the seller about this, and the history of the piece before him. his response was encouraging! but, never responded about the history????