it's an mij stencil drum not a L/L model.

I assume you mean Made in Japan knock-off of an old L&L. The snares do say L&L though. Any thought on age?

yes made in japan, this is absolutely not a high end drum such as an L/L , it's probably 60's/70's model

No biggie. only paid $20 bucks for it. i'll probably salvage the parts and rebuild it. i like the throw-off.

Yes, "absolutely not a high end drum" is accurate, but that doesn't mean it can't still be a great sounding drum. I have an almost identical MIJ stencil snare (same lugs but different strainer and in WMP wrap). Even though it's made of inexpensive, vertical grain luan wood, wood is still wood. Tuned low with good snares and heads (Remo Renaissance batter), it sounds warm and rich and responds nicely to the lightest tap. I sometimes use it for concert band work rather than my brighter, sharper COB Dynasonics.

Yes your drum is a M.I.J. snare.Most likey a Crown name drum.From the mid 60's to late 60's.Do you remove the lugs? If so the way to tell the date is if the lugs Don't have springs only inserts that would date the drum from 1965-67 in mid 67 Crown change the lugs and used springs with the inserts..To see if the drum had a badge check to the left of the air hole grommet you should be able to see two or three very small nail holes that the badge was on with...Mikey