I currently own 5 nice benders right now and none of them have a number on the pin. He is my favorite cuemaker by far. His work is fantastic and all of my cues look and play great!! I used to own the purpleheart cue in the hand of the masters calendar and there was a copy of that floating around also. That cue is real no doubt about it. Mike is also one of the nicest cuemakers i have dealt with, and he always treats me right on the cues i purchase from him. Get a bender you will be very happy that you did i promise!!