Cracker Jack had Gumball Prizes!

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spudgy
Posts: 98
Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2010 3:21 pm
Location: Birmingham, Alabama

Cracker Jack had Gumball Prizes!

Post by spudgy »

A real Cracker Jack surPRIZE! I always thought gumball toys just came from gumball machines, then I get this! Two of these three prize packages had a small opening just big enough to squeeze the two prizes out. The third is completely sealed and I want to leave it that way but I can plainly see a big-eared donkey on a string inside,very similar if not identical to the celluloid charms I've seen except I can't tell what material this one is made of. After receiving these I looked in Larry White's book and to my surprise, discovered that CJ did indeed have gumball prizes but I didn't see these particular shapes. Any comments or thoughts about these would be appreciated.

It seems to me that finding prizes in their original sleeves is a great way to know for certain that CJ did in fact issue a specific prize. It started me wondering if prizes can be dated based by the package (sleeve) they're in. These have fortunes printed on them like you find in a fortune cookie and are different than the sleeves currently being used. Can anyone tell me which sleeves were used and when? Also, did CJ issue any of those off-white, sometimes partly painted, charms with metal loops that I see so often?
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CJAAAJ
Posts: 1165
Joined: Tue Jul 01, 2008 12:58 am

Re: Cracker Jack had Gumball Prizes!

Post by CJAAAJ »

Hello, spudgy :hiya:

Let us examine the wrappers first. The left and center wrappers are from the early to late 1970s and the right wrapper is from the late 1970s to about 1984 or so. The two charms you have shown are indeed gum ball machine charms NOT Cracker Jack charm Prizes. The Cracker Jack Company did use small silverlike coated plastic charms from about 1957 to 1972, see picture. They discontinued them when the US congress passed the CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY ACT of 1972. So, no more Cracker Jack Prizes that were small or had small pieces to them, safety first you know.
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So these charms you have shown in your post could not have been used by the Cracker Jack Division of Borden, Inc., the owners of the Cracker Jack brand at the time, deduced from the C. J. wrappers years of use above. Them how did these gum ball charms ge into the Cracker Jack wrappers? Simple, someone got some real C. J. wrappers and placed them there. These were NOT placed by a Prize Inserter at the Cracker Jack Plant. Thank you for bringing these gum ball machine charms to our attention.
CJAAAJ :nutty:
THE MORE YOU COLLECT, THE MORE YOU WANT!
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Luke
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Re: Cracker Jack had Gumball Prizes!

Post by Luke »

The first two wrappers clearly show rectangular impressions made by the original prize. I agree that someone, not Cracker Jack, placed the gumball prizes inside the wrappers.
spudgy
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Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2010 3:21 pm
Location: Birmingham, Alabama

Re: Cracker Jack had Gumball Prizes!

Post by spudgy »

Thanks, guys. It seems I've been had by an unscrupulous dealer... again. Several toys in this group came in broken and one main item was just missing altogether. I'll never understand how anyone can do something like that... and for so little to gain.
Anyway, I'm not going to let them dampen my spirit or take away the joy of collecting Cracker Jack toys. Onward, to the next great find!
dianep2
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Joined: Tue Jul 22, 2008 6:47 pm
Location: Petoskey, Michigan

Re: Cracker Jack had Gumball Prizes!

Post by dianep2 »

Hi Spudgy. I'm very sorry you were duped in your quest to find CJ prizes. But I'm very happy to see you are not letting it "dampen your spirit." I love your enthusiasm for Cracker Jack collecting. May your next find be authentic and exciting!!! :D
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