First off, Thank You All for the responses!
nice find, I think it might of been Blue lacquer originally and they added the black and silver strip, just because the badge looks like it wasn't removed. Sharp and clever. I am just thinking out load ( did they even have Blue lacquer in 59?)Wayne
This made me go inspect the finish a little more closely....
The blue is DEFINITELY sitting ON TOP of the other finish. There is a clean line that I can see and easily feel with my finger. On the other hand, I can't see or feel any discernible tape line between the silver and black, even with a finger nail....it's totally smooth. In the right light I can see that the black and silver finish has "sunken" into the grain of the wood in the exact same way (I can see the mahogany grain even though the finish is still smooth) and has no checking while the blue seems thicker and has a slight "alligator skin" texture. The badge doesn't appear to me to have been removed either.?.?