Thank you everyone. Again showing the kindness of this forum.I emailed the seller asking for the story of my cymbal as I like to print this stuff up and keep it with the kit for posterity. I thought all of you real drummers would love hearing it. I should probably try to get him to join this forum. Anyway, here is his tale in its entirety:--------------------------------"I'd be glad to tell you how I got the cymbal and I can elaborate on it a little more.In the early 1980's, I used to go to a jazz club in Harlem right near Columbia University called the West End Cafe. They had small jazz groups made up from surviving members of the Count Basie and Duke Ellington bands of the 1930's and 40's. These were the finest jazz big bands of all time. The musicians were pretty old, but they were still great and I'm so lucky I got to see them perform.On Tuesday nights, the great original Count Basie drummer Jo Jones led a group at the West End. Probably the most influential drummer of all time. He was the first drummer to keep time on the hi hat and the father of modern drumming. Jo Jones, called Papa Jo Jones, was Father Time. Forget metronomes and click tracks. His sense of time was so natural and so swinging. No one can swing on the hi hat like he did, and I also loved the way his ride cymbal sounded.Anyway, there was a chubby older white guy who used to help Jo with his drum set. Turns out he worked at Frank Ippolito's drum shop on 48 st. It was not a mass market store—it was for drummers only. That was where all the big time drummers stopped by when they were playing in New York. They bought anything they needed there. It wasn't unusual to see Elvin Jones or other drummers hanging around the shop. I saw Roy Haynes there.Anyway, I was talking with this guy who helped Jo Jones and he said he could get me a used cymbal that had a Jo Jones sound. It was 1982— I met him at Frank Ippolito's and he showed me a 20" A Zildjian made in the 1960's [EDIT: I think it is an early 70's, but I would never correct him to be polite]. It was an A Zildjian (made in America) but it had the mellower sound of a K Zildjian (at the time, they were made in Turkey). And it did have a Jo Jones sound, so I bought it.That is how I acquired the cymbal, which you in turn acquired from me in March, 2015!"

I've tried to create an evidence based site to document what we know (or think we know) about different die stamps. That's an early 1970s stamp by appearance, although we don't really know exactly what year the 60s stamp finished and this particular 70s stamp began. We do know that it didn't happen at the stroke of midnight on December 31st, 1969. This section deals with the 3 attributes I'm using to identify it, mainly in the context of how to tell a late 50s small stamp from this 70s stamp (because there is a persistent internet myth that it is "hard"):http://black.net.nz/avedis/avedis-gallery.html#70sEdit: I should mention that the side on shot of your stamp makes it a bit harder to judge the vertical alignment of the H of turkisH over the E of madE, but you should have no trouble when you look straight on. I've been tricked a few times before by side on shots and I think I've learned to compensate properly. But please let me know if the E isn't to the right of the H. I do also need new reading glasses. People who know me will know I'm a bit slow about making an appointment to get another eye exam and a new pair. ;)

So it was Frank Ippolito's Professional Percussion Center. I knew it had to be one of the four I mentioned. His shop was on 50th and 8th Avenue on the second floor, if I recall correctly, across the street from the old Madison Square Garden. I occasionally frequented his shop in the late '60s to '70s. I had him make me a custom sized trap case for city gigging. It held my snare (a 5x14 supraphonic), hats, stands, and accessories, and when turned on it side I used it as a throne with a homemade pillow. The case for my 20" Ludwig Black Diamond pearl bass had a cymbal pocket in which I had a thin 20" crash/ride. It was just two pieces that I packed in cabs and dragged onto subways. He also make me a larger trap case when I had to gig with my full set. Today, my son need an SUV to carry everything.

Edit: I should mention that the side on shot of your stamp makes it a bit harder to judge the vertical alignment of the H of turkisH over the E of madE, but you should have no trouble when you look straight on. I've been tricked a few times before by side on shots and I think I've learned to compensate properly. But please let me know if the E isn't to the right of the H. I do also need new reading glasses. People who know me will know I'm a bit slow about making an appointment to get another eye exam and a new pair. ;)

Looks like a late 50's to me,,,anyway,,I AM NOT A EXPERT,,,but I LOVE the stain on the cymbal.