Narrowed it down to the '30's?

Looks more like early 1970's to me.

The height of 1 1/8 lands them in the 30s-50s. They are very old - very dirty. That will be my next questions. I wonder if using the Dawn dish-soap cleaning method will harm cymbals at all. Seen that remove chrome on hardware (lugs) if too excessive. Then again - if that removes any patina, might want to clean them some other way.

John

From what I understand, Drumaholic is a vintage cymbal guru. Therefore, his assessment holds more weight than mine, but I thought 70s as soon as I saw the stamp. See the Zildjian timeline on the hidehitters website to see for yourself.

John, you just drew a knife in a gun fight, no offense meant. Drumaholic IS the cymbal expert. Hands down. He knows of what he speaks. I saw this earlier and tried to reply but lost my wireless signal. I also would of said 1970's, but I will admit the "J" does look a bit different than the 1970's stamp, but the thinness of the stamp kind of gives it away to being 1970's

I just looked at this thread for the first time and didn't read the other posts until I had a chance to look at the stamp myself. I immediately thought '70s as everyone in this thread has suggested.

You're probably not aware that Drumahoilic is the author of the standard trademark chronology and is the recognized final word on the subject of cymbal stamps and value to drummers everywhere.

Well, after about an hour of more research and looking closely at this and closely at that, I would have to concede to Mr. Hartrick that these are most likely 70s (though I would very much welcome and appreciate more of his input). It is just real hard to be confident about that date because there are no signs of a Hollow logo, there is alot of ware, and the color is so patina(ed) compared to other 70s Zildjians that I have. Weight leans it towards the 70s, the lathing-I simply am not sure.

Here is a stamp pic-with a ruler. It hints at 1 1/8, but upon closer analysis, it appears that the top of the logo is wore off or not impressed, and therefore is sorta cutoff - which implies it would be measured at 1 1/4. This lands it in the "early 40s, late 50s, and most of the 70s". Are there other aspects of the stamp which make it a sure elimination of the 40s and 50s? The stamp is deeper on the left side than the right. I have read and seen the deeper outside edges, though have also read that that is not always consistent either.

I am leaning toward the 70s, just seeking confirmation of that.

BTW: Here is an auction of some hats I sold a couple months ago. Did I date these wrong?http://www.ebay.com/itm/320822836003?ssPageName=STRK:MESOX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1562.l2649#ht_500wt_1287

Of the several pics......tried to show the lathing a bit, also show the heavy patina on the top sides (both cymbals darkened like that).

Thanks for your input all,

especially Mr. Hartrick,

Best Regards,

John

More Pics - see previous post (above).

BTW, the 30s date was based solely on the perceived height of 1 1/8inches. I did not research further into the 30s stamp, just posted here.

Like I said, pretty sure on the 70s date now - just trying to maximize my education here.

BTW, anybody ever try to clean cymbals by soaking in Dawn? I have used it before, but not soaking. I wonder if it would have the same effect it has on Chrome HW (great).

Thanks,

John

I believe the top part of the stamp just wasn't stamped very deeply, if at all. The Z and Co in "ZILDJIAN Co" are deeper in the 40s stamps. "ZILDJIAN Co" in earlier 50s stamps are hollow block letters. Late 50s/early 60s stamps are exactly like 70s EXCEPT, "ZILDJIAN Co" is stamped more deeply and the lines of the letters are thicker than 70s stamps. That is why some refer to 70s as "thin stamps," because the lines of the letters are thin. As far as patina goes, oxygen and sweaty, oily hand prints can do that to a cymbal quicker than you would think.

Your eBay cymbals appear to be 70s also, the picture was pixelated (may be my computer).