I see "0395" which I would guess to be the serial number.

Or are you referring to other "marks" ...?

Looking at a list I have, #395 might date from mid-late 1984...

The two marks below the 2nd and 3rd tuners, they are under the finish, did not know if they had a purpose or just in the wood

Sometime marks are there to draw attention to imperfections, is there any damage to the head-stock?

No expert here. But if they're under the finish, seems to me they should have been caught and this neck rejected.

Also: I'm pretty sure this model was the Earl Scruggs. (Not "Standard")  The Earl Scruggs Standard (ESS) was the sunburst, more Granada-like version that replaced this. Maybe in 1988?

No damage that I can tell, smooth as the rest, I cannot feel these marks so thinking it has to be under the finish

I've never seen marks like that on ANY banjo.

They are so "linear", the first thing I thought of was some kind of sticky tape or plastic that had bled into the finish. Usually this is caused by electronic tuners or capos that have plastic on the clamps, and some of the plasticizer bleeds into the finish. But I can't imagine anything with a shape like yours.

I wouldn't worry about it. This is an easy way to recognize "your" banjo in a crowd! (Or if stolen, but I hate anything suggesting a jinx)

And I agree, yours is the "first model" Earl Scruggs, which began in 1984 and was quite the amazing development for those days! The "Earl Scruggs STANDARD" is post-1987 when the model was improved greatly in looks and sound. Gibson rolled out a number of Scruggs model variants in those later years like the Scruggs 1949 Classic, the Flint Hill Special, "The Earl", etc.

I was not so much worried about these marks as I am curious as to why they are there, I read somewhere that serial number 0395 came with a upgrade huber tone ring and wondered if these marks kind of marked them for the upgrade or if I have bad info

My capo’s flat side has a tapered rubber arm, that matches those marks. I’m with Old Timer, and think someone stored a capo on the headstock, and there was a chemical reaction between the finish and the rubber. And anatomically, those marks match right where you would expect, if reaching up there to clip the capo onto the headstock. Who knows... that might even be the reason someone sold it. I think it's part of your banjos personality.

Def capo marks.

Capo make sense, must have been stored for a while, thanks all for the help