What is a corkscrew anyway?

[TNG]

Described by seller as a "vintage/early corkscrew" and included (for free) in a lot of other marbles.

Dark blue transparent swirl with a white/pink base that glows super bright under a UV light. The blue kind of trails off into the base (Shown in second image)

I'm not looking a gift horse in the mouth, it was a freebie, I'm just curious where/when it might be from as the entire lot leaned vintage.

(.61 inches)

[Chad G.]

LINK ::  https://www.marblecollecting.com/marble-reference/online-marble-id-guide/akro-agate-co/

The most common and easily recognizable Akro Agate marble is the Corkscrew. This is a variegated-stream marble whose design is unique to Akro Agate. Two or more streams of colored glass were allowed to enter through the marble-making machine’s shearing mechanism at the same time. Because the different colors were layered as they came out of the furnace and because the colors were of different densities, they created separate strata in the glass stream as it entered the shearing mechanism. Just before the shearing mechanism in the Akro machinery there was a small cup with a hole in the bottom. The glass stream entered the cup from the top and passed through the hole in the bottom into the shearing mechanism. If the cup was spinning, then a corkscrew was created. If the cup was not spinning, then a patch was created. The number of different colored spirals in the corkscrew, or the number of different color patches was determined by the number of nozzles that had glass flowing through them when the glass stream was created.

Corkscrews are identifiable as being two or more spirals of color that rotate around the marble from one pole to the other, but do not intersect. Different color combinations and designs were marketed by Akro Agate under a variety of names: Prize Name (two opaque colors), Special (three or more opaque colors), Ace (one opaque color and translucent milky white), Spiral (transparent clear base with colored spiral), Onyx (transparent color base with opaque white spiral). In addition, other names have been applied by children and collectors over the years: Snake (a Spiral or Onyx where the opaque or colored glass is on the surface and just below it), Ribbon (a Spiral or Onyx where the opaque or colored glass goes almost to the center of the marble), “Ades” (types of Aces with fluorescent base glass), and Popeye (a specific type of Special commonly found in Popeye marble boxes).

Two-colored white-based Prize Names are the most common corkscrew type. This is followed by two-colored color-based Prize Names, Onyx, Spirals, three-color Specials, Aces, four-color Specials, and five- color Specials. Although I have heard of six color corkscrews, I have never actually seen an example where the sixth color was not actually a blend of two of the other colors. If a true six-color Special exists, then it is extremely rare. Any corkscrew over 1” is extremely rare.

You should be very aware that the color and design combinations of corkscrews is almost limitless. You could easily amass a collection of several hundred corkscrews, of which no two would be the exact same color combination or pattern.

 

[TNG]

Thank you Chad! it doesn't really seem to match any of the descriptions. It does have the flourescent base glass like the "Ades" description, but the blue portion is clear and not distributed appropriately compared to the Ace Examples. 

[Chad G.]

25 minutes ago, TNG said:

Thank you Chad! it doesn't really seem to match any of the descriptions. It does have the flourescent base glass like the "Ades" description, but the blue portion is clear and not distributed appropriately compared to the Ace Examples. 

You're welcome, your OP isn't a corkscrew, or even Akro IMO, maybe Jabo ?? Not positive ?

[cheese]

Agreed, the OP marble is a JABO classic from the 1990s.

[browncat73]

1 hour ago, Chad G. said:

You're welcome, your OP isn't a corkscrew, or even Akro IMO, maybe Jabo ?? Not positive ?

Ahhhhhh yes brillant subject to philosophize about ole chap, ye say what be a corkscrew anyways?   To be a marble with screwings of cork.....or not to be a screwed marble?  That is the question...Whether tis nobler to have marbles with screw and to suffer the slings and arrows of sudden dizziness and possible gastric distress when gazed uponeth. To this I say tis better to live with marbles of screw and cork with the runny bunnies than to die with intense gastric distress without these corkscrew mibs ye speak of!

Oh yeah! Suck on that Mrs. Clark I deserved a B- NOT that crap C you strattled me with and yes iT'S TRUE I only chose Hamlet because it has the word Ham in it!  I may or may not have had to many bourboons today

[cheese]

Lol browncat, my inclination is you should go with "may have" or rapidly approaching that status LOL

I'm actually working on a glass of Evan Williams small batch bourbon myself as we type. Just before hitting the sack for the night (early morning). 

[Alan]

Its not a corkscrew.

[wvrons]

It is possible for any machine made marble old or new to glow.  Every company old or new has made marbles that glow.   A corkscrew is probably the most simple style or pattern machine made marble to identify. Only Akro made corkscrew marbles as standard production week after week and year after year. Other companies have a few fluke not planned corkscrew pattern marbles. But 98% of the time if it is a corkscrew it will be from Akro Agate.  The corkscrew is the first thing that I teach children to identify with machine made marbles.  They pick it up in a few minutes and will begin sorting out corkscrews from a big group of marbles.  You can collect Akro corkscrews a lifetime and never get all the colors combinations and sizes of each color combo.  

With a corkscrew the striping color or colors start on one pole twist around continuous uninterrupted to the opposite pole and never cross over each other. 

[akroorka]

1 hour ago, wvrons said:

You can collect Akro corkscrews a lifetime and never get all the colors combinations and sizes of each color combo.  

I hear ya Ron but I will keep on tryin😁.

Marble--On!!

[wvrons]

Attaboy never give up. There sure are some nice four and five colors ones out there.