| The picture below shows three larger top, side, and bottom views of this Small Old Cracker Jack Pop Corn Confection Miniature Pot Metal Toy Prize Cowboy Hat Charm. This prize is not dated but it is believed to be from the 1910s to the 1930s. It is not marked and the maker is unknown. It has no finish at all, as made. There is a rope, or cord molded around it on the top side. It has a charm loop to be used on a charm bracelet, or as a pendant on a necklace. We have also seen these used hanging from some early rodeo award ribbons. 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. This Western Cowboy hat charm measures about 1-1/4'' x 1/2'' x 1-3/8''. It appears to be in excellent condition as pictured. |
