Thank you very much for your help guys!
I added some pictures to the original post and the following one.
I measured the headstock and it tapers just like you say nick.
It has some new Grover tuners on there and has had some repairs, but plays very nice.
Upon closer inspection I am leaning towards the first digit being a 3.
So just to make sure I understand it correctly, the number stamped inside is the FON-number, right? Are usually FON and serial numbers totally different?
I read that the lower grade Gibsons only had FON numbers and no paper labels with serial numbers, and there is no paper label inside mine.
I also read that "In 1949, a four-digit FON was used, but not in conjunction with any code letter indicating the year". Any idea what the FONs looked like in 1948?
In the blue book it says 1948 serials were from 1100-3700S and that the 1949s were in the 2000S, so both years used numbers in the 2000-range? That seems strange.
What a peculiar murky world I've entered here...
I really appreciate your help here! My guitar just became 20 years older today, which is a fun thing!