nothing special... Mine arrived looking like nothing other than a regular ol piece of 4 x 6 lumber.  If it were anything special, (I paid $270) it would have been wrapped up in something other than a single layer of cardboard. The only true aging was the damage from the shipping. I would return it but the carpenter already put holes in it to attempt hanging it? It's very heavy, hard to hang and hardly worth it. I'll have to finish it myself.