marblemansion

Well yeah - just like the Akro ad you posted - the third one shows the "Oh Boy: silent salesman display boxes containing swirls - but the 5 and 10 cents cartons are listed to contain boring "Moss Agates" "Flinties" and "Moonies" which by todays standard would be like getting a pack of catseyes. The pictures are trying to over sell what you actually get.

So you are saying the people making the ads mixed up the text descriptions and the photo descriptions....by cutting and pasting pre written descriptions; - and this ad contains a photo of a Popeye set containing swirls (we are unable to tell what sort of swirls we cannot say they are "Moss Swirls") with a text that says you are to get 15 Moss Agates in the box... its simply a mix up. They put in photos of swirls and the text described Moss Agates - wrong marbles in the photo. From what I am getting from reading the ads is that Akro was getting away from the swirls and focussing on the Patches in their marketing....the patches were the new kewl product and as such were getting the promos. 2 part answer to the "exquisette pattern" description: First off - you speak of taking things in context - take the exquisette pattern comment in context then..."moonstone glass, soft pastel colors contrasted with more vivid hues in exquisit patterns - pale green with maroon, cream with deep blue" while directly next to that description is the photo showing those exact same colored patterns in Moss Agate Patches.... Secondly as for the advertising department spicing up the description of their product by calling a Moss Agate patch "exquisette patterns...." that does not surprise me at all...especially considering the drama they placed on the father giving his son a box of marbles - way over the top - we are not accustomed to this sort of advertising today. I would love to be convinced but I just am not seeing enough evidence to say Akro produced a swirled or corked pattern it called "Moss Agate".

thats just a weak Rebel.

Does it look sorta like this? These are examples of what are called "muddies" - photo from Peltiermarbles.com in the Civil War - Confederate Graycoats had long Gray coats with sashes of red, gold, black, white - so maybe you should call it a "Confederate" - whatever it is - since we have no photo and some collector thinks its a Peltier - it is most likely a "Rainbo", the most base and commonist name imaginable for such a fun hobby...but there you have it. With a gray base and red and green ribbons - my gosh don't call it anything but a Rainbo. You might be ostracized.

I know we have had this discussion before - but its seems relevant to now - anyone willing to charge headlong into ROFL

coool looking color combo but not sure thats a Popeye - needs clear glass - wispy white and two more colors.

Thats what I was thinking too as I looked at it before I read the responses....no offense but that thing is really ugly.

LOL You haven't been keeping up - thats a RINGERSPECIALSPIRALMOSSYCORKSCREW

AHHHHHH HAH! finally the elusive ads! man thanks Craig - those are some super ads - but Steph - to me this just kills your concept of swirly Moss Agates - they describe down to the bean counter detail what these boxes contain - they have high quality images promoting the items - Akros swirl patterns surely sold better than patch patterns and yet you are trying to tell me the marketing geniuses couldn't get a photo of the swirly Moss Agates next to the description "moonstone glass, soft pastel colors contrasted with more vivid hues in exquisit patterns - pale green with maroon, cream with deep blue" Look at the boxed set....the pale green moonstone base has a patch of maroon and the cream base has a patch of deep blue.....they are describing to the T what the box pictured contains ---- Prize Names are named and pictured and "striping" are specifically mentioned in the last advertisement...so if they intended for Moss Agates to be swirls....

Steph - first let me say that I envy the time you can spend researching and therefore I sincerely value your findings and I love to be wrong. I think trying to discover what the actual names and intended patterns were from any company, not just Akro - is rewarding glimpse into history. I have discovered that over the years collectors have developed names and grouped marbles into categories as they fit what was original boxed sets...also over the years many many empty boxes have been found and back filled with whatever the collector desired and these have been passed on as originals...so getting into name picking on the basis of what is in a box is tenative at best. What is better is the known salesman sample boxes that have come directly from the factories or unopened bags - or picture advertising-- all untarnished ---- there you have the best shot at discovering the companies orignal conceptual names they placed on the pattern. So with that as a primer, along with a heavy dose of I really enjoy you, like your threads, and the reassurance that I don't think what you are saying is wrong or upsetting me....I will respond. ( I say all of this because I challenged another moderator on a different forum (who frequents this forum from time to time (may they live long and prosper)) and got the crap kicked outta me and bannished for ever for having a very similar discussion ) Yep Yep and Yep. Okay - but when grasping at this "large body" of information, there are multiple examples of known Akro patterns that have been named and that already fit into a well described patterns which you are tossing out into a heap of the unknown....and without any solid evidence to back it up. You keep mentioning this ad and I keep asking where I can see it or where if it was already posted somewhere...the ads posted in the other thread do not contain such a description....but I want to see this ad so you can bend my mind around this concept of yours. ....AHHH never mind I foudn the ads on the other thread - I posted my reply to you there. I already explained why I think boxes give us tenative information at best and cannot be relied upon for changing what is already established.

big and beautiful! this aint no Moss Agate!

this box labeled as the photo showed Moss Agates: It shows clear based glass with translucent and opaque whites with another opaque color in a cork pattern some even have 2 colors which would qualify them as Popeyes. If those are Moss Agates - well I will be derned. Where is the Akro ad describing the Moss Agates? Has that been posted yet?

Well - to me a Ringer is a one color Popeye (clear white + one color with a Popeye being clear + white + 2 colors) and to me a Moss Agate is a translucent base (no clear) with a patch of opaque color.....it would follow that a Moss Agate swirl would have a translucent base (no clear) with the opaque color corking around it but ...to my understanding the Moss Agate cork has yet to be positively defined - the box you showed does not conform to any traditional form of a Moss Agate that is known since they apparently have clear glass, and it is not known if the box was backfilled or no...so basing a positive ID on any marble from that would be tenative at best. I can understand the desire to maintain a tight definition of a an "Ace" as being opalescent with a thin line of color and only firing when back lit and having the stirations in the glass et al... but then where is the same desire to maintain just as tight definitions on Ringers, Moss Agate Swirls(??), Snakes, Onyx and the rest??? ....because a marble such as mine surely was made by Akro - and as such can only fall into a limited number of potential categories - (those known to have a translucent base and having 2 opaque colors in a cork pattern).

The marble center top row looks most like the one I have.....so are you saying its a Moss Agate Cork...is it known if Moss Agate swirls were translucent based with 2 opaque colors ? (the box you showed appeared to have a clear/white/opaque color)

Steph - I already surrendered - remember? But in response to your Ringer concept - the marble I have is through and through a translucent base - and has not even a hint of any clear glass showing.

Here are several angles the base glass is translucent not clear.

wait wait wait.... how can the one you showed of Dani's you called a "loosely filled" Ace be thrown into that category? the narrow definition of an Akro Ace would demand the opaque part of cork be a thin line and the base must be a white that appears to opaque until it is back lit and is shown to be opalescent. so a marble such as this one with the translucent base glass doesn't fit a Carnelian, not a Moss Agate, Not an Onyx, not an Imperial - I guess it could be an Akro "Special" - but even the original Akro salesman sampler boxes appear to contradict some names of what we would consider Popeyes and Moss Agates, its enough to make your head hurt trying to figure out what is real and what is not just backfilled boxes; and what name to assign my purple/yellow popeye (that just became a Moss Agate) - or what to now call my entire collection of Moss Agates that are not Moss Agates because they don't cork....mind blowing at the least.

Well Zaboo, based on the chart posted by Steph An Akro Cork with a translucent base has no other category to fit under other than an "ACE" - whether its the "fire opal" sort or not - the translucent based glass puts it in the "Ace" category....or are you thinking they should be a "Moss Agate"??

Even if you DID buy them for the investment ..... $40 box going for $295 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250517549844&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT not a bad return if they sell.

wow - that is really one odd marble - certainly can't place that color...

OH Yeah? well how many machine made marbles can you count in your collection with 7 colors???? Uh.... ummmm......... send me some!

I called 'em "graycoats" - if its translucent I called 'em "snottys" (yuck)

Yeah - its a "V" and an "A" crisscrossed with kinda like marbles in the middle - stands for Vitro Agate - if my guess is correct.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=360201570031&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123 OK - so when did pearlized patches arrive on clear glass without the pearl?

Still - $85 bucks is a hellava lot to pay for some mega marbles and jabos!!!!