S stamped on the rib of Armstrong flute

[vampav8trix]

Hi.

I haven't posted in a long time.

I have an old Armstrong flute 80B from 1970. I was cleaning it and I noticed an S stamped on the rib of the foot. Can anybody tell me what this might mean?

Thanks

[pied_piper]

Welcome back!

The Armstrong 80B has a sterling silver headjoint and body with silver plated keys. Typically Armstrong stamped "Sterling Body and Head Only" on the main body to indicate the keys were only plated. They didn't do that on the footjoint though. My guess is that Armstrong used the "S" as a hallmark on the footjoint to indicate that it is sterling too. I have an older '60s vintage Model 80, but unlike yours, it's a C foot and it does not have the "S" stamped on the rib.

[vampav8trix]

Thanks Pied_Piper. I am guessing the same thing but nobody seems to know for sure.