Anomalies

As is typical with many brasswind manufacturers, some horns will have some odd differences compared to their model, and Conn has some especially interesting examples...

Conn 21B with Coprion U. S. A. bell

An interesting 21B with Japanese valves, but an American Coprion bell...I've also seen a 21A with that as well...

Unusual 16A/Bs

As you can see above, during Conn's transitional year of 1971, I have seen some 21A copper-bell Directors with "U. S. A." on the bell despite being made in Japan, probably due to old stock bells being used up.

Whenever I see a 16A/B, they are always the same: leadpipe stamped "16A" or "16B" [depending on horn type] and bells being stamped with: "floral pattern / Three Marching Men / CONN / floral piece / U.S.A." Every time.

Except here:

I can't tell 100% accurately from the picture [due to resolution], but I can tell that the leadpipe is not simply stamped "16A", but it seems to be "☆ DIRECTOR ☆"! However, the valve caps have brown colored felt versus red, and brown felts were introduced in about 1974, when the 16A was apparently introduced...plus, the Marching Men on the bell are contained in a straight-sided shape with one edge line, like the 16A engraving. The 19A had the Marching Men in a double-edged arch...plus, while hard to tell due to glare off the bell, I can't see a pattern as extensive as the Shooting Stars...so it appears that this is a 16A with an old Director leadpipe...intentional, or just a use of old stock? It's hard to tell without closeups of the instrument or a serial number

Here's a 16B [or so I think] with the same anomaly:

You can tell that the leadpipe says "☆ DIRECTOR ☆" [and at a very odd angle], and the valve caps have red felt, but the serial number resembles an Abilene horn serial...plus, the first digit [the year of manufacture] seems to be "5", making this an earlier 16B, and the bell engraving is certainly that of the 16A/B...

Here's the strangest one I've seen to date: