Help With Otto Link S.T.M Tenor Mouthpiece -- Is It A Florida Link Or Not ??

I agree with the other Forum members that your mouthpiece is a Florida Link for the following reasons:

1. The 6 font is small and on the side of the body. Both Early Babbitt and Floridas have the number on the side, however the Florida number font is smaller than the Early Babbitt font. The 6 font is small on your mouthpiece.

2. Your mouthpiece has nickel (rhodium) plating (the best I can tell from the pictures). It is common for the gold plating to rub off of nickel as it does not stick well to it. Only the Florida mouthpieces had nickel plating under the gold. Early Babbitts and later Otto Links all used silver under the gold.

3. The third way to tell is by comparing the bore diameter to any new Link. A Florida mouthpiece will fit tighter on your neck cork than an Early Babbitt or a later Otto Link.

4. Only Florida model Super Tone Masters did not have the USA on the shank. Infact, this places it as an earlier Florida from the 50s to mid 60s.

If you are interested in more information, there are detailed pictures and further explanations of these features at: http://www.theowanne.com/mouthpieces101/OttoLink.php

Good Luck with your Link!

MojoBari said:

Theo, what is this Nickel - Rhodium plating? Until recently I had just heard it called Nickel plating. Rhodium is precious metal that is more expensive than Platinum these days.

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Hi Mojo,

That is a great question. One I still ponder over as I have heard conflicting reports that both nickel and rhodium were used on Florida vintage Otto Link mouthpieces. I am unsure as to the accuracy of either, so I included the rhodium in parenthesis in my description. If anyone has a definitive report of one or the other I would love if they shared it. Below is everything I know:

1. Rhodium has been a common electroplating material for most of this century and is still in use today.
2. Rhodium can be plated onto just about any metal surface but it is primarily utilized to plate metals that are easily tarnished such copper alloys (like brass).
3. Rhodium is far more tarnish resistant than nickel.
4. Rhodium is the hardest of all of the precious metals and provides the highest wear resistance of any common plating material.
5. Rhodium is very resistant to most acids and corrosive substances. This makes rhodium plated surfaces scratch resistant and bright for years.
6. History: In the 1920's through the 1930s rhodium plating became more and more popular. During the Second World War rhodium was restricted to the military. But in the 1950's rhodium plating became common again. This was the same time that we see this type of finish presented on Otto Links.

Ack, there you go. Everything I know about rhodium. Now my brain is empty of rhodium facts.

These descriptions of rhodium really do seem to describe the characteristics I observe of the plating on the Florida Otto Links. Also, it is possible that rhodium was plated on top of nickel. So both may have been used. High concentration rhodium solutions used in this manner only sell for around $55/oz today. I have no idea what it sold for in the 1950s through 1973 when Otto Link may have used it. It does seem a distinct possibility that it was used, though, but honestly I do not know for sure, and I most definitely am no expert in the plating field!