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Charms found on an archaeological site, need help with dates

Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2022 5:59 pm
by archaeob
Hello,

I am an archaeologist working on schoolhouse sites in Virginia and have found four different charms that I have been having trouble pinning down dates for. I know for a fact that one is Cracker Jack (blue duck or goose) b/c it matches with ones online that say "Cracker Jack" on the base, one is not (celluloid lion), and I'm not sure about the other two (cow and gun in holster). My biggest problem is that one of the schools closed in 1951 and the other in 1939 so am trying to figure out if the charms were lost when the school was in use or after they closed. Any help in narrowing down dates would be great.

Duck/Goose and Cow are from a school dating from 1923-1951
Celluloid lion and gun in holster are from a school dating from 1923-1939.

Imgur link to photos: https://imgur.com/a/ENA21Fx

Link to 3D models of cow and lion: https://sketchfab.com/virtualcurationla ... e4185ccb43

Re: Charms found on an archaeological site, need help with dates

Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2022 7:11 pm
by Cyndy Boesch
The celluloid piece, partial cow, and gun with holster are not Cracker Jack, so I can't be of any help. The partial duck looks like the common Cracker Jack duck. It was a '60's prize. Post if you need a closer date and I will dig to find it.

Re: Charms found on an archaeological site, need help with dates

Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2022 7:48 pm
by archaeob
A closer date would be great if at all possible. The site was totally abandoned after 1955, so 1960s would be a big surprise. The only site I could find said that it dated to the 1940s, but had no reference. http://theartiscrackerjack.com/history/ ... orld-war-2

Re: Charms found on an archaeological site, need help with dates

Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2022 7:15 pm
by Cyndy Boesch
Having trouble matching up the markings on your duck/goose shard with my Cracker Jack piece (there are quite a few ducks etc.). Can you post a photo of the one that matches? That will help narrow it down. Thanks.

Re: Charms found on an archaeological site, need help with dates

Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2022 7:19 pm
by archaeob
I found this image on ebay and overlaid the one I have in photoshop. I included both the original and the overlay in the imgur link. I'm fairly certain its this one because the shape matches perfectly, including a bit of the beak still visible in the broken piece.
https://imgur.com/a/gK85pWO

Re: Charms found on an archaeological site, need help with dates

Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2022 7:21 pm
by Cyndy Boesch
That helps considerably. Haven't found a date for you yet, but I am digging!

Re: Charms found on an archaeological site, need help with dates

Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2022 7:09 pm
by Cyndy Boesch
With help from another collector, I was able to find your duck and it is earlier than I had estimated. It belongs to a set that was issued about 1948. Cracker Jack archives aren't always as definite as we would like: the company wasn't thinking their prizes would ever be "collected" and were more concerned with finding prizes at an affordable price and that a prize made it into every box. Hope this helps you. Best of luck with your excavations!

Re: Charms found on an archaeological site, need help with dates

Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2022 2:09 pm
by archaeob
Thank you so much, that is greatly helpful!