This is the year we saw the Precious Metal Series appear for the first time, although this was initially separate from the Black Panther branding. There's also the addition of the little 10"x5.5" Flat Black Traditional Maple to the range.

The Precious Metal Series only offers two shell types at this time;

• Stainless Steel (i.e. the flat chrome one rather than the banded black chrome Steel which is under the Black Panther band) and
• Phosphor Bronze (offered for the first time and the only time the 13"x5.5" appears).

The Precious Metal Stainless Steel has the older Power Strainer and a unique single row of Low-Mass Oval Lugs (like piccolo snares but with extended lug bolts) on the 13"x5" and 14"x"5 models, but a standard dual row on the 14x6.5. The badges are the same shape as the Black Panther “Detail” badges but state “Precious Metal Snare Series” and don’t mention Black Panther.

Also, all the graphics for the Precious Metal series in the catalogues and adverts I've found so far, show what I think are supposed to be three Phosphor Bronze snares with the old Gold Rectangular “Flourish” Badges. They have two words under the Mapex brand which look like they could read “Bronze Master” but I don't have a high enough resolution file yet to tell for certain. Phosphor Bronze shells with that badge type have never surfaced anywhere, and they don’t match the detail shots below on the same page/advert!

The Non-Black Panther Precious Metal badges state "Made in Taiwan" but there are later examples of the mixed Precious Metal Badge with mid range logo (new graphic but Precious Metal Snare Drums, rather than just Precious Metal Series) that say "Made in China" (e.g. My 10x5.5 and 14x5.5 hammered, which aren’t in this catalogue at all)