To make a short story (question) long. My very first quality road bike was an '83 Guerciotti (I bought the frame, new, in early '83 so it might have been a left over '82). It met it's demise in '86 after a chance encounter with a homeless guy's shopping cart, during a head-down sprint. Flash forward 25 years...I think I wanted to relive my youth. Because, around '08, I went looking for the same frame to build up. I looked at about 20 different frames (some for sale, some not) and actually bought two of them. It's two years later and I still haven't built-up either of them.

Anyhow, here is my stupid question: The down tube decal has a series of flags. I definitely remember that on my original frame the American flag was the third from the top. After looking at twenty or so different frames, I noticed that on some frames the flags were put on in the opposite direction. In fact, on the two frames I bought they are opposite (see photo). So, were they done like this at the factory, or am I seeing (and do I own one) frames that were refinished or had the decals replaced?


Also, notice the difference in the placement of the downtube shift bosses.

There are also other discrepancies between these two frames and my oringinal.
Here they are:

My original had 126mm spacing, one chrome chain stay, and a Cinelli BB shell.
The frame on the left has 126mm spacing, one chrome chain stay, and no name on the BB shell. Plus, the color is closer to my original frame, but the chain stay bridge is different.
The frame on the right has 120mm spacing, two chrome chain stays and a Cinelli BB. Plus, the downtube decal has the same orientation and the chain stay bridge is the same as my original, but the color is darker.

Everything else is exactly the same. I'm guessing they just slapped these things together and I'm too anal.