Hi Mario, The earlier column bases and capitals are made of brass and slightly smaller and the later ones are made of pot metal and are slightly larger. I would assume yours originally came with the black horn since it was early. I would assume original owners were encouraged to upgrade the horns as the newer ones became available as Victor was good in sales and marketing and those who purchased the VI would have been able to afford the upgrades in most cases. Steve > Hi Steve,> > I didn't know about the differences between the column bases and capitals. I haven't really seen another Victor VI as far as I know there aren't any others here in Australia.> > So I figure that my machine would have been originally supplied witha black japanned horn? Considering all the others are a bit too late. (I have both the #24 Brass and the #31 mahogany)> > Cheers,> Mario> > >