Hard to believe this is all original

peteri

https://reverb.com/item/9931538-gibson-les-paul-1970-black-beauty

Can someone please the strange circle near the selector?

John_P

Could it have had a large plastic ring at some point?   
Definitely looks like a fretless wonder though - I think I’d struggle with that.

Funkfingers

Curious that the listing includes not a single photograph of the back of the guitar. Perhaps, there is something visible around there that would explain the "crap circle" on the top? 

It may be significant that the raised circular feature is about the same diameter as the selector switch "chip". If, for the sake of argument, somebody had try to fasten the chip with Superglue but dropped it en route to positioning it correctly, a raised mark like the one in the photographs is the result that might be expected. Removing such a glue mark afterwards would be tricky. 

Another possibility is that an object has been in physical contact with the finish for long enough to bring about a chemical change. 

ICBM

It looks to me like an area there has been refinished. It's not just the raised circle, there is also some unevenness in the finish around it and around the correct switch ring that doesn't look right. I would certainly want to see pics of the back as well.

Also, the jack socket is missing both its external washer, at least one of its internal shakeproof washers (probably both), and the nut is not original - it should be gold-plated - hence I strongly suspect that the jack has been changed. Trivial or not, this makes the guitar *not* all-original.

streethawk

Looks like someone painted over a torn sticker. Weird.

GoldenEraGuitars

Looks like the pickup selector has been located in a different spot at a time. I’d imagine that circle is where it was located and it has been filled in and painted over.

The issue with finishing over that sort of work is over time the nitro will continue to gas off and shrink around the form. 

Maybe the back  will tell us the reason? 

thermionic

Moving the selector switch seems a very strange thing to do, but a photo of the switch cavity with the cover removed would confirm.

p90fool

It's more likely they added an extra one rather than moved the original. 

impmann

ICBM said:

It looks to me like an area there has been refinished. It's not just the raised circle, there is also some unevenness in the finish around it and around the correct switch ring that doesn't look right. I would certainly want to see pics of the back as well.

Also, the jack socket is missing both its external washer, at least one of its internal shakeproof washers (probably both), and the nut is not original - it should be gold-plated - hence I strongly suspect that the jack has been changed. Trivial or not, this makes the guitar *not* all-original.

Odd screws holding the bridge pickup ring down too...

Paul_C

It looks more like a sticker that's been covered, or that the sticker's glue has reacted with the finish, which has been revealed after the sticker was taken off.

ICBM

impmann said:

Odd screws holding the bridge pickup ring down too...

Good spot.

It's also interesting that in the photos of the guitar, the bridge pickup tone knob has a broken skirt. In the pic of the four knobs, they're all intact - so presumably they've been replaced recently.

Bucket

Don't do it Pete!

ESBlonde

Without an in hand inspection and or seeing the back to throw more light on it, I think the painted over sticker or refinished hole plugged where another switch/control might have been. You can see what looks like matt black paint on the circle and a tiny bit on the edge of the 'poker chip'. Blow up the third Pic to see. I'm voting for a sticker painted over on the current evidence.

peteri

Bucket said:

Don't do it Pete!

peteri

Bucket said:

Don't do it Pete!

Laughing

 no way! Just couldn’t believe the obvious refinish described that way