These instruments are sometimes referred to as AIUSA models, since they came with a small sticker on the back of the headstock that said Assembled in the USA. As with the Lennon Casinos, the bodies were made by Terada & then shipped to Nashville for pickups (Gibson mini-humbuckers), electronics, & hardware.
One version came with a Frequensator tailpiece (which I have in sunburst), and the other came with a stopbar tailpiece.
The other two instruments in the USA-Series were two John Lee Hooker Sheratons - both came in either a natural or sunburst finish. Along with this early version of Lennon's Casino, there was also a Revolution version in the USA-Series, which mimicked Lennon's Casino after he stripped off the finish & added Grover tuners. The Casino above was part of what Epiphone called the USA-Series (from the early 2000s), but in reality the body was made by Terada in Japan (including nitro finish), and then shipped to Gibson in Nashville for the mounting of Gibson P90s, electronics, and hardware.
