I'd say it's most likely the [color=orange]1960s stamp short version[/color]

[img]http://black.net.nz/avedis/images/15-914-short-60s-rule.jpg[/img]

based on the pattern of quirks, bold vs not bold, [color=orange]the three dots[/color] and the alignments. The three dots are there, but not easily visible in your photo. But it's hard to be 100% sure whether it is the short 60s version or the tall 60s version given how poorly pressed in this stamp is. The pattern of lathing and the look of the hammering on top is consistent with the early 1960s or late 1950s.

Based on scaling from your photo the bell diameter is 5", which is standard for 18" cymbals. Later on in the 1960s (year not yet determined so don't take this as a sure thing) a larger bell die (5.5" in diameter and slightly higher) started being used on crashes and crash rides. I haven't yet been able to pin down when the larger bell die started being used. And the smaller bell die (5") continued in use as well so presence/absence of a 5" bell doesn't add much independent evidence to the production year.

The two different styles of ink for THIN CRASH is consistent with the early 60s, as is the lack of any diameter information under the model and weight class ink. That ink does span at least the later 50s and early 60s on present evidence, and possibly earlier although the earlier [color=orange]1930s-1940s ink[/color] is a bit different. I haven't yet done a full page on the changing ink styles from before the 1970s. I'll see if I can check through my photo reference collection and use the height of the ink to get an estimate of the height of the trademark stamp itself.

So taken together I'd say there are a number of different lines of evidence suggestive of late 1950s early 1960s production. A picture of the bottom of the cymbal would add further information in that regard. But of course it's hard to pin down an exact decade because everything didn't change in terms of production at exactly December 31, 1959. We just call the 1960s stamp that as a shorthand, but we don't know exactly which year was the first year of use in the factory, or which year was the last year of use in the factory.

Hope this helps. May I please have permission to use your photos on my site when I get to a separate ink page from the 1950s and 1960s? I'm always looking out for good quality photos to illustrate different aspects of identification.

Here is a pic of the stamp in better quality and one from the back. @zenstat: Of course you can use the photos.

[img]http://www.abload.de/thumb/mobile.37i0k2u.jpg[/img][img]http://www.abload.de/thumb/mobile.38h7jjx.jpg[/img]

Thanks for the extra photos and permission to use your photos. It's easier to see the three dots in your second photo, but I still can't say for sure whether that is the short or tall version of the 60s stamp.

The photo of the ink stamp on the back shows the style of ink which seems to be on cymbals destined for European (non USA) sales. Before Zildjian started putting the diameter ink on the front, it seems they put this info on the back including the metric diameter for metric countries. That blob in the middle is an ink version of their trademark. Here's a clear version from a 14" New Beat hat

[img]http://black.net.nz/avedis/images/nb-other-ink.jpg[/img]

Very cool. I didn't even know they were inking them that early.

Don't tell anyone, but I just learned something.