Buy It Now "BIN" Marbles
Listed below are items on which the consignor has requested a reserve price. Because all items in our auctions are offered without reserve, items with a reserve are offered here with a fixed price as "Buy It Now" sales.
CHRISTENSEN AGATE COMPANY NO. 1 CYCLONE BOX
Click here to view a 15 minute video of the box and each individual marble
An original Christensen Agate Company No. 1 "Cyclone" Box, with marbles.
The box is an American Agates box where the word "Agates" has been crossed out and a "C" written next to it. The cross-out lines and the "C" are in blue ink from a fountain pen. It has been reported that the "C" stands for "Clearies",, There is no documentation from the company that supports that hypothesis. The terms "Cyclone" and "Cobra" were created by modern marble collectors. So, it is unclear what the "C" actually stands for.
This box is extremely rare. Less than half dozen are known to exist. At least one of those was known to be incomplete at its last sale. This particular box has been pictured in several marble books over a period of many years. The current owner has had it for at least the past 35 years.
The box lid is intact with a little rubbing of the edges.
The box base is undamaged.
The tissue paper insert is free of any tears. The paper backing of the tissue has shadows showing the position of each marble due to acid leaching from the cardboard lid. The interior tissue has depressions where each marble rests. We believe that all marbles in this box are original to the box.
There are 25 marbles in the box. They are a combination of "Cyclones" and "Cobras" (see the video). Three marbles are transparent blue base, the remainder are clear. The interior colors are three different color combinations: Primrose Lavender and yellow, electric orange and light blue, electric orange and black, electric orange and light blue, orange with light blue and black. 4 marbles have tiny and very small flakes, remainder are undamaged. All marbles are 21/32" (just over 5/8") to 11/16" diameter. The sizing is consistent with the 3/32" variation seen in size No. 1 marbles.
The box is Mint, 21 marbles are Mint, 4 are Near Mint(+) to Near Mint.
We cannot stress the rarity of this boxed set. As noted above, very few are known to exist. Anecdotally it is believed that Cyclones/Cobras are 50 to 100 times rarer than Guineas. This box is exceptionally rare and would be a crown jewel of any marble collection. A rare opportunity to be the next owner of one of the rarest and most pictured boxed sets in the hobby of marble collecting.
This set is offered for sale at $130,000. There is no Buyer Premium on this item. The price includes Free Hand Delivery. Contact us at sales@marbleauctions.com to purchase this item.
