Conn 9A Victor
Date: 1962. Owner unknown
Notice the coprion bell and leadpipe. The 9A Victor is the short model version of the 10A Victor long cornet, and the cornet equivalent of the 10B Victor trumpet of the same era. The third slide of this instrument has a stop screw. These started appearing on Connstellation and (apparently) Victor models after 1961 or so. Since the 9A is a short model cornet and has a coprion bell and leadpipe I expect it sounds very dark, since all of those factors add to an instrument sounding dark. This is a very nice and rare instrument, you don't come across one of these that often.
The 9A Victor Coprion has a #2½ bore (0.485"). It has top spring valves. I am starting to suspect the end of the 10A Victor's production run might have coincided with the start of the 9A in 1961. However, the 9A might not have survived beyond 1963 (alas) as the (confirmed) end of the 10B Victor's production run in 1962 and the scarcity of the 9A would seem to indicate. From what I can tell production of most of Conn's coprion bell'ed instruments ceased in 1963. Certainly the 10B (1962) and the 10H (1963), and presumably the 9A and 10A as well. Only the 17A/17B Director coprion is known to have been produced after this time.
Features include Lustre-Conn finish and for the 1961 and 1962 models Tri-C valves.
What Conn said in 1963:
Two [other is 5A] outstanding short model cornetsfor the advanced student and professional. Features include: Twelve
special-design braces for greater durability, separate bell and mouthpipe cleanout slides, nickel outer slide with brass
inner slide for finer, longer-wearing bearing surface, adjustable third valve slide stop. Specially designed to assure a comfortable
hand grip. 9A has a one-piece Coprion mouthpipe-mouthpiece receiver with a micro-finished interior, and a one-piece
Coprion bell. It has a darker sound than the 5A, and a "medium-large bore" feel.