Overview
Genuinely don't know what to make of this unique model. Sandro Bustíos Chávez from the Facebook group sent me photos of it from a 2014 eBay listing. He said that the seller didn't ship to his home country of Peru, so he had to let it go. But he saved the photos - nice one Sandro!
The clever money is on it being a UK exclusive - it's a very simlar shell to the 13"x7" Birdseye Maple Natural Gloss (the serial numbers are really close too - 53832 vs 53856). But it's a bit of a weird one; it's only got 6 lugs rather than all the other 12" shells that have 8, and it's got an I.T.S mount only usually found on 10" models. I really don't know why you'd specify 6 lugs on a 12" Black Panther. My first guess was a special order specifically designed to use as a mounted snare, and the 6 lug spacing was to make it compatible with the 10" Black Panther I.T.S. mount. However, surely you'd just use a 12" tom I.T.S. mount designed for the standard 8 lug setup and keep the tuning advantages of the extra lugs.
Any more information or even just pet theories gladly received!
Update February 2023
While trying to track down some information about another "unicorn" snare on old snapshots of the PMT website via the Wayback Machine, I spotted a 12"x7" Birdseye Maple listed in 2006. Unfortunately I can't tell if it is this exact model since there are no photos, but it's a decent possibility at least!
Photos kindly provided by Sandro Bustíos Chávez from the original eBay Post. I'm using these for reference under fair use, but if these are your photos please do get in touch. I'd love to ask you more about it and credit you properly.
