Peg Tops             (Back to the)
These tops are spun by wrapping a string around them and throwing them.  They were once very popular, but, unfortunately, not as much anymore.  Yet there are still people, including myself, who like to spin 'em!
   A couple of my peg tops.
French peg top, Toupie a' Cheville, from Gildas' collection.

Not in my collection, but this is a Singapore peg top stamp issued February 21, 1997.

Giant peg top, courtesy of the Associacio' Amics de la Badufa.
 

Duncan peg (spin) tops :     (Thanks to Steve Brown)

Wood, 1st Generation
    Spike Point
    Yo-Yo Man Spike Point (sold loose, or in hang bag)
    Beginner Spike Point (sold loose, or in hang bag)
    Yo-Yo Man (plastic point, first known) (sold loose, or in hang bag.)
    Double Header - metal ball point (Sold loose, or in hang bag)
    Yankee Boy (boxed, w/ foil seal..only known Duncan top with foil seal)

Wood, 2nd Generation (These are all the tops Duncan made leading up to their bankruptcy when the company was sold to Flambeau. No wooden tops were made past this generation. All of these tops were sold on card, unless otherwise noted.)
    Tournament Slot Top
    Cross Flags Tournament
    Beginners Slot Top
    Beginners
    Little Champ (promotional, sold loose)
    Tornado (sold on Chicago Twister card)
    Cyclone (sold on Chicago Twister card)
    Whistler
    Squawker
    Twin Spin
    SpinMaster  (Canadian Only)
    Small Fry  (Canadian Only)

Plastic, 3rd Generation (Made by Flambeau, only the Imperial and Sir Duncan were sold at the same time as the wooden tops, and only towards the end of Don Duncan Sr's ownership.  This spans all Duncan tops to current day.)
    Imperial
    Imperial Pop Top w/ swivel
    Sir Duncan
    Sir Duncan Pop Top w/ swivel
    Twin Spin
    Twin Spin Pop Top w/ swivel
    Hummer
    Ripcord
    Bearing King
 

Literary Peg Top

Circa 1819 -- Medwin on Percy Bysshe Shelley:
    "The new boy in this case knew nothing of peg-top, leapfrog, fives, or cricket."
19th Century -- John Foster on Charles Dickens in Life of Charles Dickens:
    "He was a very ... sickly boy .. he was never a first-rate hand at marbles, or peg-top ..."
19th Century -- Charles Dickens, Holiday Romance:
    "John has lately been Speculating in the peg-top ring ..."
19th Century -- Charles Dickens, Our Mutal Friend :
    "R. Wilfer ... putting his bunch of keys in his pocket much as if it were his peg-top ..."
1905 -- Henry J. Coke, Tracks of a Rolling Stone :
    "I was watching with rapture, for the first time, the spinning of a peg-top by one of the grooms in the stable yard ..."

Please let me know if you have any questions or just want to talk about tops:

John Sandstrum at pegtop@sandstrum.com

Last Revised September 14, 2000