I started playing around 1986, lived in the area and knew both the owners. When I became familiar with the cues, they had the umlaut over the O. Can't speak for anything earlier than that. For a period of time, seconds (cues with very minor blemishes) were sold and were designated as seconds by NOT putting the umlaut on. That became confusing and sometimes misleading because of the resale market, so I believe that practice was discontinued all together. Not sure if Evan sells seconds, and if so how he marks them.
