Paiste 602 18" flat ride - Page 1

If no serial number then before Aug 1972 (ish)

The serial number would be below the mounting hole is presuming you hold the cymbal with the trademark stamp at the top. If you find out there is one also check if there is anything stamped above the serial number (could say PAISTE or PAISTE 602 for example). But I certainly don't see a serial number in the photo.

The earliest year I know about for these is 1964(ish) when they appeared in the Seven Sound Set series

http://www.paiste-only.com/paistewiki/index.php?title=Formula_602_Seven_Sound_Set_4

The 18" flat rides come in two weight classes THIN and MEDIUM. I did some work some years back trying to work out what the weight ranges were so we could tell them apart once the ink was gone.

[img]http://black.net.nz/paiste/images/18-602-flat-wts.png[/img]

The Spacesound was a model which was earlier than the Flat Ride and I only know of one 18" diameter for those, and alas no weight. If the weight is less than 1550g or so then it might be a THIN, although the diagnosis is still complicated because the weights in the Seven Sound Set version seem to overlap. The problem as always is that may have lost their ink so it's hard to tell which they are. I'm slowly building up more weights for ones with ink intact.

Prices are (as always) dependent on condition. Having lost the ink lowers the expected price a bit. Other things to know are whether there are any edge dings or bends. I don't see wear on the mounting hole which is good.

Pre serial prices are (based on 28 sales)

lower quartile $220 (25% sell for this or less)

median $300

upper quartile $390 (25% sell for this or more)

Given the lost ink I'd go for an expected price of $250-$300 unless some other serious flaws are there. These prices are excluding shipping and based mostly on the US market. There may be a difference between European prices and US prices. I've got another 42 sales of Black Label ones (with a serial number) and the price distribution is roughly the same.

Hope this helps.