9/16 Pop Eye Patch

[Fire1981]

Here’s the weird thing about this one. It only has one seam. I have some 2 seamers but those are all 5/8. Any ideas on why it only has one seam? Do you think this is because the spinner cup had a hick up🔥

RAR

[akroorka]

It is machine made, more than likely a "Popeye Patch".

There are always two cutoffs in a machine made marble.

This one just folded to make it look like one cutoff.

Nice find--good research--

Marble--On!!

[Fire1981]

Thanks Art. Is this a Diaper Fold🔥

RAR

[akroorka]

7 minutes ago, Fire1981 said:

Thanks Art. Is this a Diaper Fold🔥

 

CAC has "diaper folds"--no one else!

Marble--On!!

[Fire1981]

Thanks Art 🔥

RAR

[chicagocyclist]

For a patch, the spinner cup wouldn't be affecting it at all because it would not even present.  The distance between the orifice and the shears for a patch is very close, otherwise the glass starts to twist and it's not a patch.

[Jeff54]

This color set in the Pop patches is the most abundant albeit, were sought as quite valuable until maybe a ton or so got dug-up-up at the Akro site. Yet still, those in any other colors are very hard to find. Some in these colors, being folded, wouldn't surprise me as so many were sold off around 2001.

[Alan]

As I have mentioned before, I saw an entire wood Army footlocker 90% full to the top edge of just dug Popeye patches.  It was an astonishing number of them.  The guy just couldn't get anyone to buy them cheap and haul them off.  There is a monster amount of these out there.

[Fire1981]

So did some of these make it into circulation. I got mine before the dig. Any ideas 🔥

RAR

[Alan]

10 hours ago, Fire1981 said:

So did some of these make it into circulation. I got mine before the dig. Any ideas 🔥

RAR

It really doesn't matter.  They exist in huge quantities and one can't be differentiated from another.  Its actually amazing that anyone would pay more than a dollar for one.

[Ric]

The idea of relative rarity interests me.  How many different color combos have been found in Popeye Patches?

@Alan Do you recall what the relative distribution of colors was in the dug horde you mention?

 

[chicagocyclist]

I don't see them often and never for $1.  Wish I did!  Also, it is one word, no?  Popeye. After Popeye the Sailor Man they were sold in connection with? 

[Ric]

3 minutes ago, chicagocyclist said:

I don't see them often and never for $1.  Wish I did!  Also, it is one word, no?  Popeye. After Popeye the Sailor Man they were sold in connection with? 

I think "Popeye" is a collector's name. I don't think the company ever sold them as such. I believe they got their name because of the Popeye the Sailorman packaging Akro put them in, although I am not sure if they were found in other packaging or not.

[Nantucketdink]

That is folded all the way.  It isn’t even patchy.  It’s a swirl.  Now that’s cool.  Have only previously seen Popeye (corks) and Popeye patches.  It’s a new class of Popeye in my eyes.  Since you said it was from before the Akro digs..,how did you even attribute it to Akro folded like it is?  How long have you had it?

[Fire1981]

I think I got it in 2003-2005. I went with Akro because of the color combo.🔥

[chicagocyclist]

1 hour ago, Ric said:

I think "Popeye" is a collector's name. I don't think the company ever sold them as such. I believe they got their name because of the Popeye the Sailorman packaging Akro put them in, although I am not sure if they were found in other packaging or not.

Thanks for the clarification.  I have seen the boxes and all the discussion and never really asked was that an official company name.

[chicagocyclist]

While I was on my bicycle ride just now, some information I heard very early on crept to the front... something called lunch box marbles.  Those are marbles brought home in workers' lunch boxes, so therefore they could easily have escaped into the wild.   This may account for why the Popeye patch has been available before the vast majority of them appeared from the dig.

[Ric]

Some may have become available from early diggers, I think a small number of people with hand equipment were digging there as early as the 1960s.

[Jeff54]

3 hours ago, Fire1981 said:

I think I got it in 2003-2005. I went with Akro because of the color combo.🔥

That time frame would be well after the initial flood of them in that color.

As to the question of what other colors Pop patches could be found; Considering that Akro's system cranked out no spin 'Patch' up too 2-1/2 spin all in the same runs and colors, the potential within Pop Patched would be in any of the various colors one can find within the spectrum made. . I have 2, yellow and blue, 1 hybrid transparent royal blue, yellow and red, 1 red and yellow and other Akro patched that otherwise are standard made in corkscrew runs.

Considering the scale during runs, it is likely in a continuum 2-1/2 twist and no twist may be and equal amount of each. Moreover, at the end of the scale, for every patch there's likely 1 2-1/2 spin to match how many  made in any given run..

[akroorka]

4 hours ago, Ric said:

I think "Popeye" is a collector's name. I don't think the company ever sold them as such. I believe they got their name because of the Popeye the Sailorman packaging Akro put them in, although I am not sure if they were found in other packaging or not.

Ric is right on as far as the collectors name goes. The "Popeye" boxes also came loaded with  some top shelf Oxbloods.

There are a variety of "Popeye" boxes. The more common and the less common.

8 hours ago, Alan said:

It really doesn't matter. 

As far as the "Popeye" Patches go--Alan is right on as well. 
The colors shown in the OP are the ones that are more common and were "dug in vast quantities". 
@ $1 a piece--I do not agree--maybe $10. A big box full spread thorough the collecting community does not mean “common".
The others colors do show up as patches—way more rare though. Red and yellow would be my second guess as far as more “common” goes. I have never seen a purple “Popeye patch”.
Marble—On!!

[Ric]

1 minute ago, Jeff54 said:

That time frame would be well after the initial flood of them in that color.

As to the question of what other colors Pop patches could be found; Considering that Akro's system cranked out no spin 'Patch' up too 2-1/2 spin all in the same runs and colors, the potential within Pop Patched would be in any of the various colors one can find within the spectrum made. . I have 2, yellow and blue, 1 hybrid transparent royal blue, yellow and red and other Akro patched that otherwise are standard made in corkscrew runs.

Do you suppose that the Popeye patches were "errors" or just a patch styles purposefully made using the same color combos as the Popeyes? Because, as you said, you can find patches in the colors of most of the spirals, and based on their numbers, I wouldn't assume they were errors.

[Alan]

1 minute ago, chicagocyclist said:

While I was on my bicycle ride just now, some information I heard very early on crept to the front... something called lunch box marbles.  Those are marbles brought home in workers' lunch boxes, so therefore they could easily have escaped into the wild.   This may account for why the Popeye patch has been available before the vast majority of them appeared from the dig.

Respectfully, I think that is quite speculative without a real tie.  I have seen two Akro worker personal "take home" accumulations.  One I saw in-person in the former Akro employee's home.  They were nice examples of production types with an eye towards quality.  It was only ~200 pieces in total.  But not one piece was marginal or problematic in any way.

The second set was only via Roger Hardy.  He had purchased some from a different Akro employee.  These also were special examples with an good, practiced eye for quality and pattern.  A very few types were unusual enough that they were obvious departures from what we expect - but all with a lot of eye appeal (like Imperials with a lot of glass action).  One of those are what Roger referred to as "Opaque Sparklers", of which I bought a few.  I still have all of the employee examples I secured through Roger Hardy.

Popeyes were corkscrews.  When the spinner cup wasn't working they came out as patches.  Given the thousands that I saw dug, its obvious that Popeye patches failed production pattern quality control and were discarded.  I've never seen a Popeye patch in intact original packaging.

On another note, the main digs at the Akro site ended before some seem to think.  I visited the site several time during the main digs and have a fair sense of them.

 

 

[akroorka]

1 minute ago, Ric said:

I wouldn't assume they were errors.

The blue and yellow were errors--a whole bunch of them--someone was sleeping at the post.

The rest were just--not caught or sorted imho.

Marble--On!!

[Jeff54]

1 minute ago, Ric said:

Do you suppose that the Popeye patches were "errors" or just a patch styles purposefully made using the same color combos as the Popeyes? Because, as you said, you can find patches in the colors of most of the spirals, and based on their numbers, I wouldn't assume they were errors.

Nope not an error at all. Barker's patent refers to intended variation.

[chicagocyclist]

4 hours ago, Alan said:

Respectfully, I think that is quite speculative without a real tie.  I have seen two Akro worker personal "take home" accumulations.  One I saw in-person in the former Akro employee's home.  They were nice examples of production types with an eye towards quality.  It was only ~200 pieces in total.  But not one piece was marginal or problematic in any way.

The second set was only via Roger Hardy.  He had purchased some from a different Akro employee.  These also were special examples with an good, practiced eye for quality and pattern.  A very few types were unusual enough that they were obvious departures from what we expect - but all with a lot of eye appeal (like Imperials with a lot of glass action).  One of those are what Roger referred to as "Opaque Sparklers", of which I bought a few.  I still have all of the employee examples I secured through Roger Hardy.

Popeyes were corkscrews.  When the spinner cup wasn't working they came out as patches.  Given the thousands that I saw dug, its obvious that Popeye patches failed production pattern quality control and were discarded.  I've never seen a Popeye patch in intact original packaging.

On another note, the main digs at the Akro site ended before some seem to think.  I visited the site several time during the main digs and have a fair sense of them.

 

 

Fantastic.  This is why I don't hesitate to put something out there cause often history pours forth!!  Wow.  Thank you for jumping in.  I really want to know fact from speculation.