Actually I guess it does matter because as drummers we should be knowledgeable about the individual components of our kits. So I take my statement back, with apologies.

I can only quote Drumaholic: "In the older new stamp, there is usually only a small space between the Arabic script and the K Zildjian & Co." versus the Newer New description which says "but more often with this type there is more space between the Arabic script and the "K Zildjian & Co." (op. cit.)

Yours looks more like the Older New Stamp photo in the book to my eye. But I claim no great expertise on these matters.

What I do know about is statistics, and this seems to be a statistical definition (the use of "usually" and "often" suggest this) but we are given no data about how many New Stamp cymbals have been examined, how many of these have good provenience (very accurate info on year of production), and how many of those with good provenience fit the pattern versus do not fit the pattern. Thus we have no idea of the strength of the evidence. Hopefully Bill will enlighten us some day.

Yes the Gretsch Book is very nice. You can purchase it via Rebeats

http://www.rebeats.com/

and Rob Cook also has it listed on eBay (he is seller georgeway)

[ame]http://www.ebay.com/itm/310714910670[/ame]

Oh man ... thanks so much! This is all so interesting! Does anyone know how much would a newer one of these costs?!

Once again, I believe Drumaholic would be the acknowledged authority. But I do have a toe in this area (see my signature link for my work on Paiste 602s and Sound Creations)

I don't know values to a level of accuracy I'm really happy with. However, in the absence of freely available data on prices, here is a quick rule of thumb for Istanbul Ks price expected ranges:

13" Hi hats $350 - $480

14" Hi hats - $450-750

15" Hi Hats - I don't know enough to say (let me know if you know)

18" - $500-750

20" - $750-1500

22" - $1000-3500

These are for cymbals which don't have any major flaws. Major flaws are: serous keyhole, bell cracks, edge cracks, cracks along the tonal grooves, etc.

These are some of the factors which determine where a cymbal sits in the expected price range:

Small edge dings, tiny bell cracks (which can happen with these given the smaller mounting hole), nicks, scratches, etc. lower the price, but I don't have any data on how much. Signatures under the bell and original price tags, etc, are a bonus. Higher prices may be expected for those with nice patina which haven't been polished within an inch of their life. Certainly for 18" and bigger, "thin is in" so lighter weights tend to fetch higher prices. But note that weight ranges for Istanbul Ks aren't the same as modern cymbals.

According to Bill Maley (somebody I trust in these matters since he buys and sells a lot of them) Old Stamps get prices which are generally higher than Intermediate or New Stamps. Lots more new stamps around relative to Old Stamps.

Note that cymbals will sell for values outside the expected range, but not very often. This might be the garage sale where you get one for $25 or it might be the top value achieved for a light Old Stamp 22" (over $4000). That doesn't make the rule of thumb any less useful. What would be great is for somebody to show up with 100 recorded* sales for a particular size and stamp era which demonstrates that the expected range should be different. Then we adjust the range accordingly. That would be an advancement and I would welcome it, and I'm always happy to help with any data analysis anybody wants to do.

* recorded rather than remembered to avoid confirmation bias which seems to operate in both directions (higher prices or lower prices remembered) depending on the individual giving a price. I've observed this bias in action for both vintage drum and cymbal prices.

Well then, based on those prices I'm glad I have always taken good care of mine and I probably won't find matches like it in the form of an 18" crash. I supposed if I did my wife would need serious convincing. :). Thank you once again, sir! It's all very interesting!!