Page 1 of 1

More Unknowns

Posted: Tue Oct 05, 2010 2:10 am
by spudgy
Here are just a few of the many unknowns I have. Are any of them Cracker jack? If so, is there any way to date them?
Thanks for your help... again.
CJ060.jpg
CJ060.jpg (236.51 KiB) Viewed 7819 times

Re: More Unknowns

Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 8:19 pm
by gracecarriveau
Hi! I'm fairly new to collecting Cracker Jack, but I believe the majority of these are vintage gumball charms. The #8 item in particular is called a 'Krazee Klown' and was sold in 1 cent vending machines in the late 50's, and could be hooked together. I would love to find a whole lot of those! Because it was difficult for me to distinguish between charms and Cracker Jack prizes, I decided to research gumball charms, so I could at least rule those out. gumballcharm.com is an awesome site that has tons of info and pictures of vintage charms. It was truly a Godsend.

Re: More Unknowns

Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2010 8:39 am
by spudgy
Thanks for the info and the web site. I need to spend some time there researching these and many other unknowns I have. I'm mainly interested in Cracker Jack prizes so if you want the Crazy Clown I'll be glad to slip it in an envelope and mail it to you free.

Re: More Unknowns

Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2011 10:15 pm
by Jeffrey Maxwell
#1 could be one of three different varieties including one from Cracker Jack. The CJ prize is different on both sides and very thick. The bulk vending prize came later and has different sides but much thinner. The newest one is thin and the same on both sides and could be purchased in bulk for carnivals and party favors.

#9 is a bulk toy that is also generally accepted as a CJ prize; I think it is in the COSI collection.

The rest were available through bulk wholesalers and sold through vending machines or used as carnival prizes. I have not seen these in retail mail order ads, but would not rule it out.