Yes that's right - a murky brown color in just that one spot. I suppose its possible the entire back was refinished when the headstock was repaired and refinished, but you'd think if they were going to that trouble, why not do the murky spot as well ? The rest of the guitar doesn't look refinished - and has the expected bumps and scrapes of a 40 plus year old guitar so its a bit of a mystery. It did come with the purple lined Lifton style case, if that helps dating it - not that it matters much. Reborn Old tells us the period it was made.