Castello Restoration/Questions

Alright Castello Freaks,
Now that I am on a PAD hiatus, my attention has turned to getting to work on a few estates I picked up along the way intending to restore them. Here is one I scooped up for quite cheap recently, that I am going to get to work on shortly. The nomenclature simply reads "Castello" then under that "Sea Rock Briar" followed by the very faint beginnings of "Made...." that then runs under the silver band.
Given the price, and in looking at the seller's pictures, I assumed the silver band was likely a repair band, since the stamping on the shank runs right underneath it, but I don't see any cracks or damage visible with the tenon and stem removed. In addition to the stamping shown, there is what looks like an "87" stamped on the bottom of the bowl. I dont see any other markings visible.
Does anyone out there with deep knowledge of the brand have any best guess as to when this pipe may have been produced? It sure looks different than the recent shape 87 Castellos. Also, can anyone confirm this is a repair band? (It's gotta be, right?) I am also wondering if this looks like an original stem? It is obviously oxidized as hell, but I have never seen a Castello with a stem like this, and unless there is something under all that oxidation, there is no bar, rhine, or any other symbol visible on the stem anywhere. The band simply has "Sterling" stamped on it.
The seller did say it was a "rare!" pipe, but a certain $9 Canadian whiskey you can buy at the gas station makes that claim as well, hahaha. And as you know, the only words you can trust on ebay are the ones stamped on the pipe (and sometimes not even those!) so I pretty much disregarded that when making the purchase and figured it would be a good junker estate project to practice on.
Any help is much appreciated! Thanks all! Frank

Yup, repair band & replacement stem

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I figured as much! I was almost hoping for that when I bid on it, so if I mess up the restoration I'm not killing some sort of artifact, hahaha. The price was right so it should be a fun and stress free project.
Thanks George!

Restore it, smoke it and enjoy.

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That's the plan, sir! Just wanted to make sure what I was seeing was correct. Always good to know what you have, as they say, but this one has been bound for the rotation from the beginning! ::
That is, assuming my wee brain can restore it
I am actually a fan of silver accents on pipes (except the rim), and the replacement stem they chose adds considerable length, which I REALLY like. It does make it so it won't sit, but I'll live. I am a bit of a poker freak lately, but nobody seems to make them very long, which bothers me, so I'm stoked with it. You can find 4.5 inch ones all day, but 6.5 plus, forget about it, aside from the odd artisan offering (Boswell namely). It's pushing 7 inches as it sits, which is right in my wheelhouse

That's because a poker or cherrywood shape is expected to sit on its own and not need a rest or stand.

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Yeah, that's why I mentioned it above. It just bothers me that plenty of poker/tankard shapes can be found in churchwarden length, which don't sit at all, and it doesn't seem to stop anyone from making them or buying them. But almost nobody makes one around 7 or 8 inches that won't sit (or one that will sit with the broad based/heavier stummel that you mention for that matter), which bugs me simply because I want it, I can't blame makers for doing what makes sense. I realize I am likely an outlier with that niche desire.
I'm sure you are correct though, in that once the stem gets short enough, people would expect it to sit, and that probably spooks anyone from making them in that length so as not to defy buyers expectations. Whereas noone would expect the churchwarden length to do so, so there are no expectations to shatter.
Either way, I want my goddamn 7.5 inch churchwarden, George! Sit or no sit! I'll find it someday (or commission it someday). I've seen a couple of them out there in the recent past, though, they do exist, they just didn't speak to me in general, or I had other PAD priorities that outweighed them at that moment.

Just put a nice, solid lead base on it and it'll sit just fine. Now, clenching, on the other hand...

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Hahaha, why not make the whole stummel out of lead? Stem, too! The FDA heads would explode...
I do have a nice light peterson tankard churchwarden I clench though. 10.2 inches and a wee 1.1oz. Works fine if you hang and dont bite. It’s my only green finish pipe. I got it for our favorite Irish holiday.