According to Gretsch there was a Square Badge with a somewhat muddy, pinkish patina that was used only in 1980. If that description fits your badge then you've got your set's date. The more common Square Badge came back again in late 1981.

FYI

Since the kit is all original and taking into account some dings and dents etc., what would the value be approx? I could not find many 70's sold listings on ebay and none with this style tom mounting hardware. I was thinking in the $700-800 range.

That is the going rate in VGC $800.00 - $1000.00

From what I can tell it is not in very good condition. It may be original but there is tom rash on the 13, dings and dents on the 16 and bass drum and the bass drum hoops have foot pedal rash in several places. I would guess it is in average to good condition. I plan to keep them, but want to justify the purchase to the wife. I owned a Gretsch Purewood kit around ten years ago but have never owned an American made Jasper kit (I assume that they are Jasper although I have read that some kits may be Keller).

That is a good price for a real professional drum kit.

You did well! I own enough Gretsch to day that natural finish will sound very open. You will be surprised at how nice the bass drum sounds. Nice find.

Square badge, Round badge, hexagonal badge, triangle badge, lol ! ..Whatever.. A vintage 70's or early 80's Gretsch kit in that shape for $499 is a steal.. Do it now !!

It's like when i bought my earl 80's Rocker Ludwig kit with classic lugs for 3 bills..

It's not a super classic, or a hollywood, or club date, but it's an American made , vintage Ludwig kit, and at $300 smackers, i couldn't pass it up.. Your kit looks pretty clean. and the finish is classy, so why not go for it ?

I did buy it. I already bought it when I first posted. I will say that I have learned a ton about Gretsch today. I feel like I just crammed for an exam. I have been to numerous websites, read post after post as well as looking at Ebay's completed items etc. The whole square badge on a seventies kit still does not make sense but I am going to assume that logic is out of the window on older drums like these.

You did well!

Having to justify it to the wife is another matter.x-mas2

For the price, you stole it.

As for the holders. I had a kit with them on it. The tom mount receptaclesrequire a fist sized hole in the toms; that's not a resonance enhancer.

I sold those as soon as I was able to find some replacements. The replacements, sans holes, are a huge improvement.

That said, if yours sound good, that's all that matters.