Akro Agate Marbles
Back in the early 1900s two residents of Akron, Ohio named Gilbert Marsh and George Rankin began making glass marbles. They created their own machinery to mass produce the marbles and found enough demand to start a company. So in 1911 they registered the trademark Akro Agate and manufactured marbles under that name, arguably the most famous among marble companies. They soon partnered with Horace C. Hill, formerly of the Navarre Glass Marble & Specialty Company and Akro Agate manufactured marbles for 40 years. In 1951, when Akro Agate closed, theirs was the last of more than two-dozen marble factories in America's marble making capitol of Akron, Ohio.
Akro Agate marbles come in a dizzying variety of styles including corkscrews, sparklers, oxbloods, moonies and many more. Corkscrews are Akro Agate's most popular and easily recognized marble style. Common ones have a white base color with a second solid color twisting around the marble from pole to pole. More desirable variations have a non-white base or three or more colors.
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