| The picture below shows a larger view of the (5) Small Old Cracker Jack Pop Corn Confection Miniature Pot Metal Toy Prize Mens Top Hats in this lot. These prizes are not dated but with the exception of the orange hat, they are believed to be from the late 1910s to the 1940s. They are not marked. The Cracker Jack ID Number for these is: B-0006 but the maker is unknown. Three of these (the two dark ones and the orange one) have a hole, as made, to be used as a charm. One has blue ink, one orange paint, one has black paint, one has a silvered finish, and the other has a gold looking finish. The difference with the orange one, is that it was put out as a nostalgic one by a company called Cracker Jill (not Jack). They sold ready made jewelry made of brightly painted original Cracker Jack prizes, then later made ones as well. The same top hat prize was used as a game marker in the game of Monopoly. Many of the early pot metal or lead prizes were manufactured by Dowst (Samuel Dowst), or the Tootsietoy Company of Chicago, Illinois, but there were other companies in the United States, and including ones from Japan and Germany prior to World War II as well. Some of these type prizes were made specifically for Cracker Jack, while others were made as small novelties, bought in volume, and used as prizes by The Cracker Jack Company. Pot metal or lead prizes were some of the earliest prizes that were used in Cracker Jack boxes from the 1910s to the late 1940s. Many of these type prizes or novelties were also sold out of old Johnson Smith & Company catalog as well as some other early novelty catalogs, also used in fortune telling sets, and some were also sold and used as board game parts. Many of these can be found factory painted, inked, or with no finish at all. All five of these for one price! To judge the sizes, the larger black tophat measure about 1/2'' x 3/8'' x 3/4''. They appear to be in excellent to mint condition as pictured. |
