Help - 7836 bracelet clasp stamped 74 ?

[gbear1969]

Hi all -

(newbie to the forum here)

I have a 7836 bracelet (bought from a reputable source so am quite sure its genuine) which looks like it is stamped 4-74. But I read that they stopped stamping these in 1972, and the 4 in 74 looks like someone tried scraping it in later. It looks like it may have been 71 someone wanted to convert to a 74. No idea why someone would bother though. Pics attached. (btw, it has 280 endlinks.)

Any thoughts or anyone come across this? THANKS!