Here's the stamp:

$90?

Sounds like a deal!

Actually haggled down some from there ... it is a Turkish cymbal after all Cool Dude.

You have a "pre split" Istanbul cymbal signed on the bottom by Mehmet and Agop (the principals of the Istanbul cymbal company). The company later split into two separate companies.

Wikipedia has a simple summary (with dates) which should do:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istanbul_cymbals

Both companies still exist and are doing fine. Mehmet still runs Istanbul Mehmet, and Agop's two sons run the Istanbul Agop company.

Some people seek out these "pre split" Istanbuls because they like the sound. I've owned a 20" ride in the past but it was a bit heavy for my liking.

Thanks Z for the history link ... If I read that correctly this cymbal is from somewhere between '84 and '97. Does the stamp help narrow that down? Wikipedia talks about the first exports to the US being branded as Zildjiler ... this cymbal does say Zildjiler Co. in the stamp ... did that run all the way to the split or did they change the stamp somewhere along the line too?

It sure doesn't look like it's gotten much play for being 15+ years old ... must have been owned by someone who didn't like the sound as much as I do. It is kind of heavy for it's size but it doesn't build up the way a cymbal this mass/size would if it had a bell. And the sizzle is just right ... not overwhelming but constant ... just takes over as the wash fades.

Good info, Zenstat!

Yes, this is a pre-split Istanbul, as they are known. When Mehmet and Agop (brothers) had a disagreement, they split off into seperate companies. There was actually a third company that came out of the split, which is Amedia, run my Ahmet Tannegar (sp?) who was either a third brother or "main cymbal guy" at the Istanbul factory. They have ben fairly quiet, but in the last few years have really been putting their name out there.

As far as the dates go, the Istanbul cymbals from the 80's had green ink stamps. In the early 90's, the changed to black ink stamps. So yours is from the 90's.

I had a 20" pre-split flat ride black ink that was a Danny Gottlieb signature model. I wish I still had it!

And you got a MAJOR good deal at less than $90!

I wasn't going to go into more detail, but just some small amendments for future readers...

Actually, the earliest ones had ink logos which seemed to be "crudely" spray painted in black and did say Zildjiler. Those were replaced quickly because of a threatened lawsuit from company called Zildjian (you may have heard of them) who claimed it was "too close" to their name. The die stamp stayed Zildjiler (which is the registered company name in Turkey) but the ink changed to Istanbul. Again the earlier ones were "crudely" spray painted black (as if the mask wasn't held tightly against the cymbal leading to slight overspray). Sorry I can't show a picture, but if you've seen one you'll know what I mean. An unknown time later the ink labels started looking like your usual silkscreened ink we know see on this one.

Alas, as more data comes to light, the black and green ink labels seem to coexist in time. Last I heard (not that I pay super close attention) the color was no longer a "safe" way to estimate age. And nobody has any evidence supported theory about why some are green and some are black. At least, if they have such a theory then news hasn't reached my ears. Like most things, I started paying close attention when I had a presplit, and haven't kept up since I moved it on. I do still have a nice Agop Istanbul in my collection.

Given that, I'd say it's safer to not distinguish between green and black "periods" and I'd just leave the probable date range as late 80s through 90s. Also so far as I know there aren't any die stamp changes documented. People haven't felt the need to look at these Istanbuls through the microscope as far as dating them goes. They are nice. You play them. Simple.

There were USA distributor problems (can't remember the year) and hundreds of these were dumped on the market at very low prices. Perhaps a liquidation of existing stock from the outgoing distributor. This one may have been picked up then for a low price (with hindsight I wish I had purchased some then).

Enjoy.