The square shouldered Gibson J-55 was (re) introduced in 1973 and the A31XXXX serial is pointing toward an earlier number.. 1973? Sure! Most of these J-55s will have a laundry list of issues bestowed upon them from Father Time.. binding that's cracking or completely gone.. bad neck angles.. cracked bridges and cracks galore. This guy had all of these, but found a luthier along the way to get it all sorted out. Nice tortoise binding, repaired cracks and even a neck reset. Plays great and sounds very nice. Stamped a factory second because of a finish blem on the back. Has an original looking case!