These three large Akro Agate "Prize Name" corkscrew marbles were dug up in mint condition from an an old city dump. Probably tossed out in the early 1930s not long after they were made, they waited six or seven decades to be discovered and cherished again by a later generation.
The two on the left measure about 1", which was the largest size corkscrew marble that Akro Agate made. They are shown here above a standard 5/8" playing marble, also an Akro corkscrew.
Vintage marbles of this size are rare for obvious reasons: Fewer were made, they cost more, and they were just too big to fit into the regular marble games. Finding them in mint condition is even harder for reasons I can remember from my own childhood.
We called any marble larger than a 3/4" shooter a "boulder" and found them too large to play regular marbles with. If we did play marbles with them it was "tag" or "bombs" where we hurled them at a another marble of similar size. Inevitably their bulk caused them to chip and break more easily, not to mention the fact that it was great fun to hurl them down the street to chase after them.
I have a hard time believing these were thrown away on purpose in such new condition; I envision some tears were shed at their loss so long ago. But I'm grateful they were preserved in all of their original glory.
And I aim to make sure they never get thrown out again.
October 25th, 2011 at 12:03 am
I have a few of these red&yellow corkscrew shooters like the one in the middle of your picture in the 6/17/2010 post. My grandfather also gathered some marbles from those tossed in the trash.