If you ever did any antiquing or marble hunting in Pennsylvania, you may be familiar with Merritt's Antiques. I believe alot of these marbles, that they called German Sparklers, came into this country through Merritt's. Merritt's was located between Pottstown and Reading, Pennsylvania and had a Doll Museum, an Antique Shop and a huge business in Reproductions at another location.
My husband and I often stopped in at the antique shop and on one occasion, about 7 or 8 years ago, he became interested in some marbles of this type that were in a dish on the counter. The young saleslady told him she had more in the attic and went to get them. She told him that Merritt's had started in business around 1960 and they imported these marbles from Germany when they first opened. They arrived in burlap bags but I no longer remember how many were in the bags. I have also forgotten how many my husband bought but I know they he sold them to many local dealers as well as to Marblealan.
Merritt's Antiques was a huge business that took several auction companies and many auctions to complete the dispersal of their inventory. At one of their auctions I attended I actually saw a burlap bag full of these marbles being sold as well as loose marbles of the same size and type. I'm sure they have found their way all over this country and into collections.
I doubt that Merritt's was the only one importing the German Sparklers but I thought this information might be of interest. Perhaps the one who bought that wonderful sack of Sparklers will add to the story.
Nancy