As I posted above, I contacted Leupold and provided them the serial numbers of the two scopes I have that do not have gold ring or objective lens markings. The technician was very curious about these scopes and asked me to send him some photos of the power selector, serial number, windage/elevation, and gold ring-which I did. This AM I received the following email:
"After having a chance to review the pictures and serial number, and engineering documents, it appears that this scope is authentic from everything I can see."
Make of this what you want... CP.
