A “stamp anomaly” is a stamp or label that is unusual. A cymbal with a stamp anomaly may be just as useful as any other cymbal—it is simply more difficult to know how to categorize cymbals with stamp anomalies.
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Star and crescent anomaly. The star and crescent appear different in this stamp than in all others. The star is deeper into the crescent, and sharper than in any other K Constantinople stamp that I’ve seen. The other elements of the stamp are similar to “Stamp 3”. See the nearest stamp. |
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Constantinople plus “& Co.” This is a subtle anomaly. The stamp contains the “Constantinople” and “Trademark” components of a K Constantinople, but it also says “K Zildjian & Co.” Cymbals from this era usually say “K Zildjian & Cie.” Perhaps this cymbal is from the Istanbul era, with the odd addition of a faded old Constantinople for some strange reason? |
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Upside down “ZILDJIAN“. |
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Double K stamp. There is little to be learned from these examples except that it was possible to make errors in stamping them. |
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There was apparently a small set of First Stamp A Zildjian cymbals that said “Cymbals Foreign” instead of “Genuine Turkish”. These were apparently exported to Premier, the British Drum Company. They also lack the “Co” after the word Zildjian. This image came from a 12″ flanged paper-thin cymbal.
Thanks to Matita Burgosi (from Italy) for finding this cymbal and Sebastian Pöschko (in Germany) for sharing the stamp photo. |
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Upside down Arabic. This was submitted by a commenter! Thanks to Jim Hodgson, below, for sending it along. I tend to follow up with commenters who offer to send image files of their cymbals and stamps. Much appreciated. |
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Unauthorized use of the word “Spizz”. Sometime in the 1980s, Roberto Spizzichino, the well-known cymbal maker from Tuscany visited and consulted with the Chinese cymbal factory in Wuhan, China. He never authorized them to make any cymbals invoking his name, or his brand ‘Spizz’ but apparently there are a few out there such as this one. To see what Spizzichino cymbal stamps look like go stamp. |
Nice to see your addition of the “Stamp Anomalies” page! I’ve got one that you may be interested in. It’s a ’30s “early first stamp” (by your terminology) A, and the Arabic was stamped upside down. Overall, the stamping is very clear, and it’s just so obvious! I bought the cymbal for that reason alone; little did I know that I would receive the most beautiful 15″ paper thin crash I’ve ever heard! If you shoot me your e-mail address, I’ll send you a picture.
Is this from that hit video tape funniest home cymbal bloopers?!?
“Uh-oh, looks like somebody stamped this one upside down!” (~boing~=sound effect)
Also, Rob, there is an anomaly on your cymbal stamp anomaly page! (cue studio laughter)
In the introductory line ‘stamps’ should be singular.
Hi there, nice to come across this valuable website. Well, I have a K Zildjian 15″ Heavy Crash. I’d be glad someone to help to know if this feature am about to describe can be considered an anomaly: the word Zildjan is engraved twice, one above the other, as if the first engraving was too close to the above word Istanbul.
Thanks for helping
Thanks for your ‘k’ site…I have many (yikes!), and have wondered whether the transition from
intermediate stamp to new actually correlated with any manufacturing change/location, etc.,
or just new stamps, and perhaps some new craftsmen taking over…?
Dave, the stamps wore out over time and were replaced. Intermediate stamps in particular are frequently found to have insufficiently indented the surface of the metal. Stamps correlate to dates more than specific historical changes, though people definitely have their favorite eras because the technique obviously evolved from as the decades passed.
Thanks for your time. Have a nice day.
tM
Myself, I’ve found a 12+ inch sizzle K Constantinople splash / crash, which I believe is a stamp 4.
Looks quite like the ones here, however the Zildjian ‘J’ seems to be mirrored / reversed. Can’t think of how this would be possible to achieve. Do you perhaps have any idea?
Grtz, Wouter