I picked up a 16s 23j Waltham Vanguard (8 adj) off ebay for a tick over $100. My friend told me this is near the end of the run for Waltham for RR approved watches and mentioned that the Vanguard in the 34M sn range are extremely hard to find. The case is missing the crown at least, maybe the stem also and appears to be a later style Star case. The case has a dent in it but appears to be in good condition (minus at least the crown) but is not factory marked (like some in the 30's to early 50's did) and I wondered if Waltham stopped doing factory marked cases late in the game because times were bad and why spend the extra money having the cases marked.

Any thoughts on "factory marked" cases near the end of railroad approved watch production for Waltham?