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Thought this might spark some commentary.
Gene

http://www.ebay.com/itm/181442104130?ss ... 1423.l2649

I want the one that sold on eBay for $99...

I'm a little puzzled. Anyone care to chime in on this. Look at the plate on the machine and compare to the one I have. Anyone seen another that looks as crude as you can clearly see here...??. Just curious.

I don't see anything wrong, other than that one has more dirt/tarnish/corrosion than yours does.

Actually, it appears to have been cast and not stamped like my much higher numbered plate. Is it possible that Johnson's first brass plates were cast...??. It's in the details where one can notice this. Also, in the die stamped plate you can see finishing vertical striations all over the surface.
Whereas the other plate appears to have sand pitting from being cast.

There is another subtle difference between the two: the word "TYPE" has different kerning (spacing between letters) on the one that appears to be cast so it looks more like "T Y P E"

Are you suggesting it is a fake? If it is, they have done a masterful job of making everything seem old. The rust spots, the patent pend imprint, the dirt and grime in places, the cracked tubing in the reproducer, etc.

I know nearly nothing about phonographs, and am very new to this hobby, by the way.

gramophone78 wrote:Actually, it appears to have been cast and not stamped like my much higher numbered plate. Is it possible that Johnson's first brass plates were cast...??. It's in the details where one can notice this. Also, in the die stamped plate you can see finishing vertical striations all over the surface.
Whereas the other plate appears to have sand pitting from being cast.

These two ID Plate examples (#37 & #12295) are made from completely different masters and likely different production methods as suggested by Wayne.
Pictures of other low serial numbers will need to be gathered. Then we can see at what number it changed over from one style to another.
Aside from the quality of the shape and its details, the typography is different in font and size.
(Lower image #37 & upper image #12295)

I'll just toss this out as a guess. The ID Plates were ordered and delivered, rejected for quality and reordered, used until the replacements arrived.

James.