Markings on '71 280SL Springs

[Woodstock]

Just replaced the front and rear springs with Sport Springs on the front and back.  Fortunately this resulted in settling the front end down about 3/4" because it was extremely high before.  Noticed the springs I removed had peculiar paint on the springs (see attached photos).  Were these the proper springs for the car??

[kampala]

Factory springs had such markings.   Some folks re-mark them to replicate the factory look. 

Would you advise what springs you used to replace these?   

[Woodstock]

Replaced them with John Olson (SL Market Letter) sport springs.

[Shvegel]

In the rear the upper slashes denote spring rate and the lower marks tell the setting of the lower spring perch.  The spring perch setting is important with regards to camber in the rear suspension.  In the front the marks are spring rate only.  Springs were selected based on options that effected the weight at that axle like power steering, Automatic transmission etc.

Lots of paint markings under the car to show when bolts were checked for torque or when alignment was checked.  Fascinating stuff called "Dotology" which is the study of these dots.