Steph

Gracias. ( :

Sweet bunch of mibs there, Edna. I should probably know what RDR means, huh? The initials of 3 birthday boys?

those are gems

One sort of natural way marbles get a matte texture is in aquariums. Some new marbles are given a matte texture by means of acid.

I sorted them by how much it stood out. 1, 3, 5, 7 are the ones where it stood out most to me. There were others which almost made it to the list for something like Mike is saying. Sort of lost their luster.

Looks like the torch adds new damage.

Nope. I'm quite insecure with my red, white and blues! For a time they all seemed to be called Champion. I've tried to sort it out but haven't found much information to go on. That was the main reason for this thread to start with. It didn't go that far. Obviously. Maybe ask about it in the main chat. Might be time for a new look at 'em.

That's my facebook status!

I don't think they made that kind in Germany in the 1980's. However, it might have been available for sale in Germany at that time. Vacor made some with similar coloring in about that time frame. Here are Vacor examples someone posted from a Mega sampler bag.

Corkscrews? Shocking, I tell ya, shocking! Very nice array!

Joe says Muwahaha, you ain't seen nuthin yet!

I just went through some pix George Sourlis sent. They're on paper so I can't post them at this time, but one shows a Champion box with the No. 25 label on the top. From Berry Pink, Inc. The design is a little different from the ones above. One difference is the box top has a decorative border. Looks about the same size though. So I'll guess that's what Pink would have designated most of the boxes in this thread: #25. I was searching George's pix because I thought he sent me a copy of a 1953 MK ad. I hoped to confirm that it looked pretty much like the 1954 MK ad shown on p. 105 of AMMM. I think it did. Anyway, the 1954 ad has plastic bags. Not sure if it's a photo or a drawing but the marbles look like swirls. FTR and FWIW.

A marble. 1997 is the year I heard. Check out this page: http://www.themarbleman.com/caramels.htm

Maybe the FBI could confirm those were Rainbo stripes. I can't swear to it: (clicky) However, I'm pretty confident the marbles donated to the Marble King tournament also highlighted in that flyer were Rainbos. Remember this pic? source: Tacoma Public Library Archives

Even earlier

Scott, do you know how long the VFW tournament went on? The last year I have the national results for is 1961. I saw an announcement saying that the national was going to be in Tennessee in 1962, but then I couldn't find any follow-ups anywhere saying that it actually happened. It never occurred to me to ask the VFW itself, until I saw your post. Doh.

"Everyone wants to kiss the marble!" ? (lol - don't know what that means but it's cute) About that list, First, I still need to reformat it for this page. I think I can get a decent, readable format, but I'll have to pull Sam's file back up to sort it all out. Gotta go find his email. After that, I'll try to figure out what you're getting at. Did he get an entry wrong? Or did he leave out a whole category? Sorry, I'm not familiar with the ins and outs of that tournament. *off to find his email*

Gambling marble table ....... http://digital.utsa.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/p9020coll2&CISOPTR=1016&CISOBOX=1&REC=5 (While I was in the neighborhood looking at Saturnino Garcia's pic, I saw the link to this.)

Only 1947? Only VFW? I have a number of articles snagged from online newspaper archives. Different tourneys, different years. Including for example one mentioning a lack of funding for a state VFW tourney in AZ in 1950, which may or may not have been resolved. I have a number from 1947. Not all I could have gotten probably, and I don't know how interesting they are. When I was searching, I was mostly just trying to get the names of all the national champs. But I saved a few extras here and there for more background. The 1947 champ from Texas was a "modest boy" named Saturnino Garcia. The Texas VFW gave him cowboy boots, a silk shirt and a sombrero to wear to Boys Town. Here's a pic of him. Hmmmm ... doesn't look like a sombrero. lol. p.s., Check out that motor bike Tilton Holt won in 1950. (link)

What he said. Those black and yellows are cool.

oh cool! Wonder if it was remotely possible that it's original. How many marbles would fit in that box? I still wonder if Pink ever brokered any deals between Rosenthal and Alley. And supposedly there was a 100-count box from Rosenthal. Is that it? That 1940(ish) flyer had a pic with a bag with the same design. I have a bigger version than this if someone needs more detail. (might need to double click for full size)

No kidding. They wouldn't want to be doing free advertising for Champion, would they? The boxes being promoted by Berry Pink appear to have said Champion as late as 1939. However, a 1940-ish flyer suggests they might have said Marble King by 1940. (Not conclusive but possibly) Here's a clip from a 1939 article with Champion boxes. (click) But this is from a price list for late 1940 or early 1941. Mesh bags for sure said Marble King by then. Looks like maybe some boxes did also. Do your boxes have a number on them? What would a #25 Marble King box look like? (click for a little larger copy)

Sweet collection. Not sure I remember seeing one with Alley's in it before. But I kinda think maybe .... Here are a couple with the Champion label: (click to enlarge) Here's a Champion with the same boy, with Peltier on the side: (click)

aventurine?

lol I think it might mean you have a Marble King "Wee Glow". ( :