I recently acquired a Brooks Professional that I was told came off an early Schwinn Paramount. I was looking for a means to date it and stumbled upon this thread. I figured I would detail my findings in hope that it will help another.

I've seen the information from the Sturmey-Archer email in a few posts, so I figured I'd start there. Lucky for me, it looks like I have one of the saddles from the "overlap period" and that used BOTH dating methods. Looking closely and under bright light, I was able to make out a "B" over the numbers "73" on the rear frame. According to the email, it dates this saddle at February 1973. This took several attempts to capture using my cell phone camera, but its actually quite clear and unsmudged in person.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p...1-Version2.jpg

Now for you puzzle solvers out there, the stamp on the leather is "L I C." I can figure a possible "3" from the "C", but how February or a 7 come from the "L" and "I", I haven't a clue.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p...l/IMG_2682.jpg

Other photos of the saddle can be seen here:

Top: http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p...l/IMG_2686.jpg

Bottom: http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p...l/IMG_2685.jpg

Side: http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p...l/IMG_2687.jpg

Rear badge: http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p...l/IMG_2683.jpg

Post bracket: http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p...0/IMG_2679.jpg

The saddle is in amazing shape for being 40 years old! The seller said it was from his fathers Paramount and that the saddle itself has been stored in a cloth bag, inside a shoebox, and in the closet for years. It has a few "character" scuffs, but the leather is not cracked at all. It has no sag or sit bone imprints in it. It seems to be broke in like a 5 year old saddle, but has patina far beyond that. The copper rivets look shinier in photos than they actually are. Some of them have a greenish patina that I was careful not to wipe off. I wiped it down with a terry cloth and gave it a coat of Lexol. It's beautiful - in my eyes. Soft, comfortable, and the smell reminds me off tack hanging in an old barn back home.
Anyone know what these vintage saddles in this condition sell for in today's market? Does the fact that the month and year are visibly dated add any value? What about the fact that it came off a Paramount? Do Paramount owners/builders seek original replacements in this kind of condition?
I planned on keeping it and putting it on my Soma Smoothie (century bike), but I'd be curious of what the estimated resale value is. I know only the just of Brooks saddles but nothing from the vintage era. This saddle was being ridden 15 years before I was conceived.