See this link, the Bluegrass Special was only offered in the "Traditional" series:
https://web.archive.org/web/2012050...uitars.com/instruments/?bodyShape=Dreadnought
What's really going on with the "Bluegrass" names is that the D50 was originally called the "Bluegrass Special" when it was introduced in '63. (The D40 was called the "Bluegrass Jubilee")
Guild just like giving their guitars names at the time, in keeping with F50's being "Navarres" and F30's being "Aragons".
The use of names gradually fell off during the 70's and by the '80's weren't used at all anymore (on pure acoustic flattops).
The practice was revived in the Nashville Custom Shop in '97 with the F40-based "Valencia", but not much beyond that until, in Tacoma, they reintroduced the use of the Bluegrass names on the D40 and D50 to designate guitars that had Red Spruce (Adirondack or "Adi") tops, the first time Guild ever expressly spec'd Adi on a production model,
that we know of .
New Hartford introduced the use of "Traditional" series to designate a level of trim and finishing, (primarily full high-gloss finish) and also continued the use of the ""Bluegrass" names to denote D40's and D50's with Adi tops.
They also introduced an economy series of flattops known as "Standards", same basic wood formulas but a couple of cost saving details like finishing: "Standards" initially had satin-finished necks, and less elaborate headstocks than the "Traditionals".
Anyway, you couldn't get the Adi top in a D40 or D50 "Standard", you had to upgrade to the Traditional Series to get one.
So in 2012 a D50 Traditional
was a "Bluegrass Jubilee" and not all of 'em said it on the label, the same thing has been seen on D40's as well.
In truth my memory's fuzzy about when the labeling conventions were in place designating "Bluegrass" models.
For comparison, here's a listing for an '11 D50 Standard that shows "D50STD" on the label, note also the lack of Chesterfield on headstock:
https://reverb.com/item/19733773-guild-d-50-standard-2011-natural
Guitars made w/out pickguards?
It does ring a vague bell, but in fact also recall a couple of reports of p/g's with "bad adhesive" (not confirmed as a "real" problem, might have been an incompatibility of adhesive with a new finish formula, too) that moved around on the guitars, also a problem in early Tacomas "IIRC", so possibly you saw guitars with 'guards intentionally removed by owners?