bumblebee

I did some more research and these seem very much like "dresden paper ornaments", especially given the fact they have the thread loops on their backs.

Thank you, Winnie! That's the first real information I have on them. I still cannot find a mark anywhere beyond "Printed in Germany" and "No 1666" on the instructions. These figures are very fragile. It's a wonder they survived so long as toys. I am not sure whether mine match the catalog link you sent me. The boar looks very familiar.

This came from an estate with several 1930s era board games. It is made in Germany and appears to have never been built. It consists of cardboard and wood and then these animals figures which may look like plastic, but are very light and delicate and appear to be made of two halves of paper pulp pressed and painted. Each animal has a little thread loop on its back as if for hanging. (One of the animals, the fat elephant, is made in Japan and of different material--probably thrown in there later). Any ideas on who made it and when? I tried Googling the animal figures and could not come up with similar figures.

Since some people claim to be in contact with the original finders, why not ask them to issue an anonymous statement of facts surrounding the find? They can keep their anonymity and the collecting community can benefit from a very vital piece of marble history.

I'm guessing 60s. They said the family was very "crafty" and played a lot of games. There was also a huge wooden doll house, fully furnished, that looked to be from that era.

Neat...I rarely find MK marbles in the wild but I don't know why. This was at an estate sale where the owner collected hundreds of cuckoo clocks, piano rolls, and 78rpm records. I asked whether they had marbles and they produced a coffee can with just these and a few game dice. $7 was worth it. Just wish he hoarded marbles instead of cuckoo clocks!

Found these at an estate sale today and was charmed by the clay handmade marbles (not antique but still charming). Somebody clearly tried to make them swirls. Can anyone tell me what era/type these MK are? I have another 100 or so of the same style. I was thinking 60s or 70s?

One vote for John McCormick's marbles being superior to the "exotics" pictured thus far.

Does anyone else have one of these? It is a faceted double bullseye agate. Looks like an owl. This one was dug from a late 19th-century privy. I lovingly refer to it as the "pooper shooter."

For those who believe they are genuine, what are your theories about the colors and the low quantities? Would CAC have mixed up tiny batches of glass and run them through their equipment for just a few dozen marbles that they never sold or even gave away to local children? Wasn't it a lot of work to clean up and start new batches with new colors? Maybe these were prototype marbles near the end of the company's life? They are so beautiful it would seem some employees would have secreted away a few hundred if they were all being dumped, right? People had good visual taste back then too. What are some other speculations?

Yikes, hearing that from you has me worried. I may need to content myself with my 5/8" one that is mostly white with very light green but is faceted.

I'm still looking for a high-contrast vintage green bullseye shooter. I lose sleep at night knowing my agate collection is incomplete.

Nobody has explained why a find of this historic magnitude is entirely undocumented. That is highly suspicious, particular if big-time collectors were involved. Where are the photos of the dig? Where are the photos of the piles of the marbles, the cleaning and sorting? This is a hobby where members savor history, particularly documented history. There is no shortage of photos of every bit of packaging and paper and marble history, except in this case. Clearly somebody has something to hide, but it is not clear what that something is. My gut tells me that if these are genuine vintage CACs, then somebody got them for a song from somebody who did not know their value, and that explains the hush-hush nature of their origins.

Thanks, I did good for $3.

But where did the grandkids get the Champion Hot Wheels marble? Were they sold in stores? I thought they were some sort of abandoned run that never made it to stores?

Where would the farmer whose estate this came from have gotten a Champion Hot Wheels marble? I know, it's a trick question, because it assumes the mason jar I got this from was untouched, but the fact this was the only pre-1950s marbles out of 236 marbles seems odd.

Thanks, I thought so. Does it have an official name?

I bought this 5/8"ish being sold as a Master but my gut says Marble King, but can someone confirm?

Interesting. I did not know about "How Wheel" marbles, which apparently were from the 1990s? The one pictured came from an eBay purchase, a farmer's estate sale. It was one mason jar filled with 95% Vitro tri-lites, a couple of Akros, a few Alleys, and then this one. Everything else was pre-1970s and mint, so it really felt like a time capsule except for this marble, apparently!

Thanks!

I was thinking the yellow had a chalk like texture, and have not heard about a Hot Wheel before. Is challkie only for the dug alleys with white chalk-like substance? So much to learn!

I realize this may be too many marbles at once, but I was curious whether any WV swirl collectors can tell me from these photos which, if any, of these marbles are definitely not Alley Agate?

Since this 5/8"+ marble looks chaklie I figured it was a "chalkie" until I googled that term and realized a chalkie is a dug "oops" marble, right? Can someone remind me what this fellow is called and who made it?

I'm guessing http://www.ebay.com/itm/CHRISTENSEN-AGATE-STRIPED-TRANSPARENT-ONLY-9-16-SUPER-RARE-/141577364489and several others sold recently by this seller are "exotics", no?