Zildjian K Istanbul 12" Questions... - Page 2

I'm not an expert on these different old stamps, but I do have Rob Cook's The Ludwig Book, which includes Bill Hartrick's latest publication on these (2013). If we are lucky Bill (Drumaholic) might answer himself, and I was hanging back hoping he would. It's his research, of course.

But in the meantime, I'd say there are only 3 possible trademarks for your 13": Type IIb, IIIa, and IIIb. The trouble is that your picture isn't the best, and what I can see remains uncertain. Here is an annotated pic so you know what I'm discussing.

[img]http://black.net.nz/cym2015/old-stamp-k-unsure.jpg[/img]

According to my reading of Bill's words, the position of the large K which lines up with the top of ZILDJIAN suggests Type IIb (1949-1950). But then the lower ZILDJIAN at an angle suggests Type IIIa (1950-1953). However, these differences aren't always present. Both of these characteristics vary a bit according to Bill. And since they seem to suggest different things it would be nice to find a decider.

One of the deciding attributes seems to be whether the star is large enough to touch the crescent moon (IIb) or whether the star is a little smaller so it doesn't touch (IIIa and IIIb). But I can't see the star and crescent moon well enough in your photo to say whether it touches or not. I'm not thinking that Type IIIb is likely because Bill says that in the IIIb the horizontal stamping of the word ZILDJIAN plus a slightly larger letter height for the ZILDJIAN are the two most reliable identifying features. Note that Bill doesn't explicitly say it is the lower ZILDJIAN he is talking about, but I presume it is because that interpretation fits what I see in the picture. Note also that Bill's discussion of the distinguishing features of the Type IIb is the longest description of any of the stamps, and that's for good reason. These are subtle differences and hard to pick.

Hope this helps.