Let me preface this by saying that I'm new here.
In any event, when I was going through the age guide looking through the history of the changes to the grills, something dawned on me.
I have seen a pre-1959 kettle (with the solid pan near the wheels) within the past year or so. When I saw had seen it, the pan was somewhat banged up. At the time, I did not recall ever seeing one like that and thought it was just some beat up Weber where someone had fashioned their own (or re-purposed something) to replace the missing circular ash catcher. So, I didn't even bother asking how much they wanted for it. Pretty certain it would have sold for a song because it was probably likely a regular flea market or garage sale. If I had realized it's legacy, it would be in my backyard now.
Now, I shall think of it as the one that got away.
Yeah, I'm kicking myself in the ass about now.