By the way, what would be a safe way to clean this cymbal?

Please...DO NOT clean.....people will pay more if you don't!

Okay, but do you know what time period this is?

Try here:

http://robscott.net/cymbals/k-istanbul/

Thanks im pretty sure its from 1953 to 1956

I take that back. Old stamp IIa, 1946 to 1949

I agree, it sure looks like a Type IIa old stamp. I can't help you on price, but its fairly rare. I would guess around $1500 or perhaps more, but I could be way off. Maybe Zenstat or Drumaholic will chime in.

If it's a light weight one...its worth a lot of cash..

My data is getting a bit old (Oct 31) and it's time to do another sweep. But the last values I had for Old Stamp 20" (n=12) were showing:

The median is $1250

Half of them sell for between $1125 and $1690

The ones above this range tend to be one or more of:

[list]light (below 1800g)

[*]in excellent condition (no major defects)

[*]sold by a few well known sellers who get top prices

[/list]

The ones below this range tend have major defects (serious keyhole, several spider or bell hole cracks, edge cracks, etc) or were poorly repaired.

Old stamps generally get higher prices than New or Intermediate stamps, as do thinner ones. This seems true across different diameters.

Since you began by saying "how much is this worth in US dollars" I'm guessing you aren't in the US. Based on what analysis work I've done so far I believe that prices are higher in Europe, but I haven't estimated by how much. It might turn out to be equivalent to something like the hourly wage in Europe vs the US. Thus it might take you as many hours to earn an old K in Europe as it does in the US. The comparison might also be standardized by the Big Mac index (just for your amusement):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Mac_Index

I haven't collected enough data to get a handle on it yet. International comparisons are complex...