Well Bill Maley needs to think outside the box and stop put`n cymbals behind kits alone !iMaybe think school or team bands and sound effects for TV and Radio which were very big in the Fifties too !iI still think they are original and not meant for a HH pair !iSmall rivits and large rivits can be drlled for differently,...No ?
Ha! Well, the thread was about hi hats, wasn't it? I agree though, factory rivets on a small crash or ride would be more likely than factory rivets on a bottom hat. I think when you said:
On another note, in the fifties, drummers tended to have smaller HH cymbals.
...you may have meant "ride cymbals" or "crash cymbals," yeah? So there would be more of a likelihood of factory rivets as a stand-alone sizzle cymbal.
Also, factory Avedis rivets back then tended to be further from the edge, as in royal ace's pic. Even half-way between the bell and edge.
Lastly, cymbals intended for hats in the Trans stamp era were paper, paper thin, so that weight of 1110g means that that cymbal was most likely meant as a stand-alone or "band" cymbal, or part of an orchestral crash pair.
So, assuming it wasn't meant as a HH cymbal, when originally drilled the holes were either:
1.) Factory holes for rivets on a stand-alone cymbal.
2.) Non-factory holes for rivets on a stand-alone cymbal.
3.) Non-factory holes for rivets on a non-factory HH pair.
4.) Non-factory "air lock" vent holes on a non-factory HH pair.
Based on all of the cymbals I've ever come across, and the fact that they are tiny holes so close to the edge, I believe that #1 has the lowest chance of being true. But it's of course still possible, and I don't think we'll ever know for certain.
From inside the box,
Bill