The upper wire groove ring and shoulder are very crude, giving the insulator some eye-appeal in my opinion. There is a little bit of wear up there, but the only real damage is a pepper-corn ding on the dome. There is something going on under the "QU", but not sure if this qualifies as the blotted out embossing. Was asking $400 and free shipping for this very tough and underrated CD. Full or part trade for threadless that would fit my collection, or US coins.