You can check out the selling prices via the link in my signature.

Selling prices for 14" 602 hats vary depending on:

[LIST]

[*]production era: pre serial, black label, blue label, or reissue

[*]whether they have the ink intact (and condition generally)

[*]whether they are a special model like HEAVY or EXTRA HEAVY

[*]whether they are Sound Edge or not

[/LIST]

Since those older summaries were done I've got oodles more data right up through 2017. I've checked a few specific diameters to see if there are any significant price trends over time and the answer so far is no. Price trends are steady as she goes, although prices do vary a lot of two very similar cymbals in one sale to the next. That's where statistics (and large enough samples) comes into play.

Someone close to my area is also selling some old 602 14'' hats for 300. I have a pair of 60's 602 14'' hats and their sound is very unique. Been looking for a 60's 602 ride to go with them...

EricP--I have a 20 inch 602 ride if you're interested

I don't know much about 602's but i recently acquired a 20" ride and what i believe to be a 18" crash. i can't see any serial#'s on either of them except the 18" has an 18 printed in ink on the underside. Are they what they call pre-serials or are they reissue ones?

Since the Pasite-Only-Wiki evaporated I can't just direct you there. I recently put together a little annotated image to show where things are located. Yes this is a Sound Creation I've used for illustration, but the locations are the same.

[img]http://black.net.nz/paiste/images/SC-mellow-early-top.jpg[/img]

If you don't see a serial number below the bell as this one has, then yes yours are most likely pre serial number. Serial numbers came in in the second half of 1972 as best we can tell. And I'm presuming your cymbals have a pressed in die stamp. This is the most common form:

[img]http://black.net.nz/paiste/images/602-solid.png[/img]

On the bottom there was a diameter in ink (usually in red but the color changed in some eras). Again this illustration was done for a different purpose but you can see both the red ink diameter and the PAISTE in outline font.

[img]http://black.net.nz/paiste/images/22-2500-bot-ham.jpg[/img]

That PAISTE in outline font came in just before serial numbers and continued until the Blue Label ones (at which time it turned blue and solid rather than outline font). During the Blue Label era there wasn't a pressed in die stamp, and the labels were done in ink and were...blue.

The reissue 602s have no die stamp, red model ink at 12 o'clock (like the Pre Serial and Black Label periods) and a serial number which is 8 digits not 6. They have black ink saying Paiste Formula 602 on top which is like the black label period logos. On the bottom Paiste went back to the black ink outline font. Later on in the reissue time Paiste started using a laser to etch a serial number and that's on the bottom. So there are ways to tell them all apart. Sorry if this seems a bit complicated, but I'm hoping you can work it out without me having to do the usual thing and say "you need to post pictures of yours".

Your 18" might be one of several models. In round numbers the weights are:

THIN CRASH 1400g

THIN 1500g

MEDIUM 1600g

MEDIUM RIDE 1800g

but based on the data I've collected the weights for cymbals in these categories can overlap, so once the model ink is gone we can't tell whether something which weighs 1590g is a THIN or a MEDIUM with high reliability. But it's still worth seeing what weight yours is. But be warned that many sellers simply refer to any 18" cymbal as a crash whether or not it is sufficiently light to qualify.

The 20" cymbals came in these models as well.

wow thanks so much for all the info.

What happened to your wiki pages?

I'm not the provider of the Paiste-Only Wiki and Forum. Just an occasional contributor.

The Paiste-Only Wiki and Forum went dark weeks ago. The URL is still live and says that hosting is being transferred to a new provider if you click on Enter the Forum. But the contents never came up again. We don't know what's happening. It's a one man band and he's a bit secretive and we don't even know how to contact him to offer whatever assistance (financial, technical, spiritual) we can give.

http://www.paiste-only.com/

I've contributed a little bit of information to the Wiki over the last few years but the heavy lifting was done by others. For example, I was able to pass over all my recorded weights a few years ago and those were incorporated into it. I relied on the Wiki definitions so that people knew what production eras I'm talking about in my pricing work, but now that the Wiki is down I'll need to add all the information to my site. The guy who runs Paiste-Only didn't allow any info on prices which is why my pricing stuff is entirely separate. But it's also the reason that my 602 and Sound Creation stuff is still online.