I just noticed this nice looking key of D, pre-1980’s nickel Generation on eBay. Its “buy it now” price is $12.99.
Somebody grab it.
Best wishes,
Jerry
I made the seller an offer on it. Haven’t heard back. Probably won’t now that you’ve flushed it out in the open. 
Feadoggie
It is ofcourse a myth that all the old ones were great. Some of them were. A lot of them weren’t.
Oh well. That was fast. Thanks a lot, Jerry. 
Who’s the lucky new owner? Anyone? Inquiring minds want to know.
Mr. G’s right, there’s no guarantee it’ll be a good one, but some of the good vintage Gens are really great whistles. Definitely worth a try.
but some of the good vintage Gens are really great whistles.
And so are some of the new ones. But it’s a matter of picking and choosing. It was then as much as is it is now.
It seems to me, as Generation’s injection molding tooling’s gotten older, there are fewer good ones. I’ve noticed this a number of times when I’ve run into “new old stock” Generations from the same molds they’re using now. They seem generally more solid, more coherent, if that makes sense, than most of the current ones I try. There’s a projected lifespan of injection molding tooling of a million of so “shots,” after which the tool is considered worn out and in need of replacement.
I’ll agree with you Jerry. Thanks again for the superb tweaked vintage pre 1980’s Generation C. I’d keep it were it not for my Oz, which is the only whistle I’ve found so far that rivals it in the high register. If anyone’s interested I’ve put it up for sale.
https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/fs-freeman-vtg-generation-chieftain-sweet-hoover-sold/92367/4
I went to eBay and found the whistle I believe Jerry was talking about - a Generation D for $12.99. I also saw a Generation C and F for the same price. The problem is that they look like the same Generation whistles I would buy today. How can one tell the difference between a vintage Generation ('80’s and back) and one that’s fresh off the assembly line?
You’ve got to look for the ridge on the top of the beak and dimple on the back of the head. Those are the “quick look” indicators.
Oh, yeah, and they are usually pretty beat up. 
You wouldn’t want one. Nah! Not good stuff! Stick with the new ones - though they apparently all need tweaking.
As has been said, the indication of age does not make it a sure bet it will be a good whistle by any means.
A search of past threads will give you all you would want to know and way more than that.
Feadoggie
Thanks Feadoggie! Bonus extra for me - a Generation C nickel whistle I recently acquired (and that plays better than any Generation I’ve ever owned) turns out to be one of these “vintage” Generations.
Thread revival:
So I was poking around the local flea market when I chanced upon an old Generation C. The ridge and dimple attested to its age, as did years of accumulated crud. I tried it very gingerly and decided the $5 ask was worth it. At home, it got a soapy soak followed by a hot water bath, and once I got the head off (using the Joanie Madden smackdown method), a vinegar swabbing and toothpick decrustification. (This thing was pretty gross.)
Now that the whistle didn’t feel like a biohazard, I gave it a proper play, and wow! It’s fabulous! Pretty much as good as any whistle I’ve played, and better than most. Looking at the windway/blade area, it’s quite small. Much smaller than a (contemporary) Generation Bb, and not appreciably bigger than a D. And rather than being a rectangle, it’s almost square. So I’m assuming this accounts for the sweet tone throughout the range.
Given how nice it is, does anyone think it would be worth using the head for a D or B (or Bb) whistle, or will the bore-length ratio get too far off? I could fashion new tubes, or maybe make some sort of adapter to step the C bore size up or down to fit an existing tube. Is this worth trying?
I feel very fortunate. I only have two Gen’s. A Bb and a C. Both are very old. Both are very sweet. Both have mouth pieces as illustrated above. I had no idea when I bought them. I am very lucky.
Hoping to find a D someday.
I really think Generation’s C whistles from that time period were their most consistently good key. I own several, and each one is really good. Even the “worst” of all of them is very nice. You certainly could use it with a D tube, though I imagine the playability would shift pretty much as expected with a wider bore, for better or worse. It might effect the responsiveness as well… and the inverse if you used it for a Bb (which I imagine would take a quite gentle toot with that head)..
I think making tubes for B or C#/Db would work out better than D or Bb, as the playability and sound would change less, but it never hurts to try them all out. I bought an older Gen Bb head (without the tube) from someone, and ended up making a B tube for it, which worked out extremely well. May as well experiment and see how it turns out.