Steph

Well, the "14" postal zone could give an estimated date from 1943 to 1963. Edited: Within those two decades, the "Made in Japan" could put it at 1952 or after ... but I'm still reading about that so this is subject to another edit. (Would something before 1952 definitely have had "Made in Occupied Japan" or is it possible that it would just say "Made in Japan"?) I remember hearing once that Alox was a fiercely "made in America" company ... and of course they specialized in shoe laces ... so I've wondered when and why they would have laces made in Japan. And don't have a good theory for that yet.

Sounds possible too ..... thanks for putting me back on the fence, Ric.

Here's hoping I did these justice -- well, I didn't -- but it was fun trying.

Pondering on your comment and the glass quality made me think .... maybe they were trying to make the corks shown in the 2nd post here: http://marbleconnection.com/topic/17742-master-marble-boxes-filled-with-akro-agates/

There's the Alox name! Thanks, Al!

I was just feeling nostalgic for some Alox shoelaces I once had ... with marbles on the label. These are some pix I found of similar ones in case you'd like to know what to look for. Says Alox somewhere on the label. Took me quite awhile to figure out those were marbles. At least that's what I think they are! What fun stuff do you have?

Pretty swirly. I can't guess whether they were even meant to be swirls or if they started out as something else. Seems kinda odd how the red and green are split up on the smaller one. Don't know what that might signify though.

Good luck!!!

$100 less common? Don't mind me. I'm just going through my cat's eyes planning my retirement .....

Cute kitten! lol Mib looks all Pelt to me!

Some people don't understand the importance of texture. That's something I'd think waffle experts would be very much in tune with.

302?! Wow! .... or should that LOL and the extra 2 years on the end let me know there's a joke there somewhere?

Clever!

Here's the most worn side of my big 'un up against some 21st century Vacors. The Vacors have a heavier feel and I think a little colder. The small ones are not strictly heaver than the large one. I confirmed that on my postal scale. But I think I verified that they're significantly more dense. Together the 2 smaller ones weigh a little more than .9 ounce. The large one comes in at a little over 2.2 ounces. (I conclude the "little over" part because the three marbles together came out to be 3.2 ounces.) The smaller ones are 19 mm wide. The big one is between 37 and 38 mm wide. (Can't be more precise because it's a little out of round and just a tad too big for my caliper's grips.) Sooooo .... if I did my math right, then the small ones together have about 1/4 of the volume of the big one. But the weight of the small ones together is about 40% of the weight of the big one.

I am pretty sure mine is not a Vacor. I'll try to get a pic. When I saw it though, I immediately thought back to the time Bill posted the huge clay for ID. I wasn't happy how that ID thread was left. I wasn't sure his was a Vacor to begin with. That was just something I was thinking of. However, if it was a Vacor, my thought was that it was made around the year 2000. That's when the stoney Vacors that I'm familiar with were made. The story which came with Bill's marble suggested that it was older though. I know that Vacor made clays when they started out in the 1930's. However, I would imagine those looked more like commies than like the recent version. I don't know though.

And a hush falls on the crowd.

Here's another Galen classic: Christensen Turkey Head

I'm not sure how widely used the name "diaperfold" is these days, but basically it is a single seam marble. The most famous were made by Christensen Agate (as were the marbles which are typically called turkeys). Single seam marbles were occasionally made by other makers (I have a single-seam Akro and a somewhat misshapen single-seam Marble King). Here is a pair of slag photos which I thought did a good job illustrating the name. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .. . . . (I think the marble photos came from Manddrakes' auctions) Turkey-head-like patterns also appear on other marbles but calling something other than a Christensen a turkey will generally get a lesson in how it's not a Christensen. More pix will surely be forthcoming.

It's not so hard to believe!

Did you know he collected Akros?

There was at least one different swirl type from the digs. I'm remembering red, green and white ..... Edit: yup, I checked my dug Akro box and I have a couple of the red/white/green swirls (in really lousy shape )