K Zildjian Istanbul Constantinople Type 4

Company: K Zildjian & Cie
Country: Istanbul, Turkey (which was called Constantinople back then)
Production Years: 1935? to 1940?
Trademark location: towards the outer edge
Other Markings: Company name written under bell K Zildjian & Cie
Diameters: observed 10" to 18"
Sound File Examples: coming

The Type 4 has a different and more complex Arabic section which it shares with the Old Stamps. The "saxophone" element distinguishes the Type 4 Arabic from the 2 and 3. The word TRADE MARK tends to be done with a gap between the TRADE and MARK, and can be quite worn down. CONSTANTINOPLE can also be very weakly pressed in.

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  Example 1

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  Example 2

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  Example 3

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  Example 4

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  Saxophone on Old Stamp

The signature is different now, and Gretsch also put a tiny G on the underside of the cymbal right at the edge. The Gretsch G continues until at least the Old Stamp Type IIb era.

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  Signature

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  Gretsch G

Once again, here come the complexities. Some stamps say K Zildjian & Cie and some say K Zildjian & Co. The difference is just the French abbreviation for Company versus the English version. It isn't yet clear why both forms occur, and if they represent different production years or perhaps the market the cymbals were made for. Example 1 is most likely Cie, Example 2 is clearly Cie, Example 3 is clearly Co, and Example 4 might be Co but it is too poorly pressed in to be sure. The Cie style carries over to the earliest of the Old Stamps. From the second Old stamp on it is replaced by Co as seen in the Saxophone example. The other thing worth mentioning on Example 4 is that there is some slight multiple stamping. There is a KE ghosted to the right of the crescent moon. There is a ghosted O to the upper right of the ampersand &, and there is something going on with two attempts to get the ZILD of ZILDJIAN on there.

Another difference between the Type 3 and the Type 4 is the height of the word IN in the text MADE IN TURKEY which wraps around the moon. The Type 3 has IN the same height as MADE and TURKEY. In Type 4 the word IN is a little shorter.

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