Leaderboard

I retired back in 1998 and a Realtor friend, Landon Daniels, collected marbles and invited my wife and I over to visit him and see his collection. He put a quilt on the table and opened his safe and started showing some rare or HTF machine-mades and handmades, saying this one is $1,000; this one $2,500; this one $600, etc. He also showed me his shooter Peltier Superman and a Vacor Serpent and mentioned a "little bit" of value difference, even though they looked pretty much the same - especially to me since I knew zip at that time. He said there are many others that are hard to tell apart so "learn before buying". We went to a SeaTac Show in Tacoma a couple months later (just on the Saturday show day) and looked around - ended up buying one marble - a Marble King Bumblebee shooter for $5. After that, I started looking online and determined that buying packaging (mainly marble bags by MK, Peltier, etc.) was a good way to learn about marbles. Of course there were some fantasy bags being made around that time but they were not ones made by marble companies so I knew something was off. Alan Basinet and I got together online and communicated about these fake bags and started letting buyers on eBay know that they were bidding on fake bags (back then you could communicate with buyers and warn them). However, as we all know, eBay needs their fees so soon they changed it so you could not communicate directly with buyers through eBay. But, you could still see the ID of who was bidding and figure out how to get ahold of them and still warn them. Six months later or so, eBay found that out also and quit showing the ID of who was bidding, etc. and here we are today with a "buyer beware" mentality of eBay (and other sites). Oh, by the way, bags were "the thing" for me and 4,000 plus later, they still are. I did heavily collect Akro corks, metallics, Ravenswood and various other machine made marbles over these 25+ years.

It started for me in the mid 1980s. Maybe 85 or so. I was visiting my grandparents and my mother went up in the attic and found her old marbles from when she was a kid. There were marbles from the early 1960s on back to turn of the century. I collected anything you can imagine, and knowing they were old interested me. Then when we were at a local antique store, I noticed the owner had some marbles in a case behind the desk. I asked him about them and he loved how much I was interested, so he started telling me about those cool corkscrews I liked so much and others. He sold me a few as I could afford them and I was totally hooked. I asked for old marbles everywhere I went. I thought I had it bad back then... lol if I only knew. But it's just fun, what really matters isn't made of glass.

Some of mine

A few of mine

Very hard to choose, but if I had to . . . A Periwinkle cork on a translucent green base. Akro 🤩

My wife and I collected "slag glass" and McCoy pottery together for many years. Auctions, flea markets, estate sales, yard sales--etc etc. Then one day at an antique mall in Oshkosh WI we found this book by the Hardy’s--What? They made marbles too?? This pushed the limit for me--then I found a book by Everit Grist--off we went. Of course we had friends that collected other things that thought that we were "nuts" about collecting marbles. I had a friend "gift me" a coffee can full of marbles from her ex. I dumped them out and said---oh no--These are too valuable for a gift. About $7,500 later she knew. This was about 30 years ago and they still hold their value. About forty books later--here I am. Then the internet changed it all. I still have the marbles that my mom gave me from her dad--one was beat up like Chads Akro slag ( nice one by the way)--mine was a Oxblood Eggyolk--just a killer old used up marble. Grandpa played marbles---no doubt. Marble--On!!

These are my faves--for today at least. Yep! Akro Patches from Les Jones (rip)--killer marbles--just killer. Marble-On!!

What a great time y'all! Thanks to everyone who came!! Lots of people from around the country, loads of marbles and money changing hands! Great people, new and old friends, people I can't wait to see from show to show. Good food, awesome hotel and staff, and on a few occasions I heard how well sales were. Debbie said she thinks this was a record show for sales, another guy said this one smashed all previous shows for sales. I couldn't be happier! Check out the pics, also shown are a couple pics of some of us eating pizza provided to showgoers on Friday night The welcome screen on the TV screen in the event center was provided by the hotel owner, a surprise to us! What a great family owned and oriented hotel... they really go the extra mile to accommodate us and make us welcome every time. 5 of 5 stars without hesitation!

I guess you’d call this a liberty? Picked up today

Well, when did you start marble collecting ?? what ?? why ?? and who got you started. You can include your favorite type if you like. I started in the mid 80's, German handmades were my go to, my Mother gave me the spark as a child when she gave me her favorite shooter, I still have it from when she gave it to me in the late 60's during a move.

I started collecting in 2020 when I inherited my uncle's marbles they were in jugs and old big bottles, a gumball machine .with no job I took a deep dive into marbles here and was welcomed and the knowledge shared here and within this site ihas changed me imto a marble head 4 ever My favorite are American machine made marbles. This is where it began with this hoard collected by my grandmother and given to my uncle .then to me ...

Multiple views of one of my favorite

And then you have the opaque ones These you want 🤓

My haul from the CT marble show this past weekend. Plus a few from PA (top pic) on our way home to my southern home! VAmarbles

Happy Thüringen Thursday

Not sure why you would make a torch marble and then beat it up and sell it as a near mint marble.

Can I cry now or later

Type 3

Might as well dream big right

Lousy pic of a mist onionskin

More mica

Here's a nice old shrunken onionskin with mica - 11/16" faceted pontils. Not a great pic unfortunately!!

Mega and Vacor are the same thing IMO, The OP is Mega IMO, agree W The Nickel Guy

Love this new addition to my collection. Looked black on the site ....dark dark purple again lol...

Happy almost Akro Friday! 1. Periwinkle on a translucent base 21/32" 2. Orange Auger 19/32" 3. Yellow Onyx 9/16" 4. Green on Yellow Prize Name 19/32" 5. Orange, Red, and Blue Special 21/32" These are more of my treasures from the Old South Marble Show 🤩

Then a Kato w-oxblood; several Spiderman w-oxblood; Watermelon w-oxblood; Patry's Watermelon-Girl Scout-Red Bee w-oxblood; some more Watermelons w-oxblood.

Some of our Handmades. Happy Sunday!

I usually do figurative abstract paintings. I was starring at a blank canvass for about 3 days in my studio when I was in College. My Professor came in and asked what’s up? I said I just can’t get started. He said quit thinking so much and paint something stupid. So. I’ve drawing stupid stuff. I just thought I’d starting posting some. 🔥 Funky chicken Man and Chicken Robot RAR🤪

1. a Powder Blue, Brown, Orange, and Yellow corkscrew 21/32" 2. an Oxblood Spiral, hard to photograph 5/8" Happy Akro Friday y'all

Picked up recently. Double Ingot. .875

The Joker 😉👍🏻

A few nice shooters. Double Ingot Sparkler and Clam 3 color. Water bottle cap in picture for size.

A recently acquired new favorite Akro hand vase .. 3 or 4 color 🤔 My only hand vase 😆 🤣

No Brainer🔥 RAR

Few of my Peltier favorites

Before Ron Shepherd (RIP) and Chuck (& some others) got into WVS, the books had a lot of these as CA's. "They" didn't think the WVS could be so pretty.

My biggest and best Loved handmade German Mica for this "Sundays Best"

Well, 81 very nice Marble Kings showed up today in the included bag. They and the bag were very greasy but they got the Dawn soap and rinse treatment and the bag is also clean. Not a bad marble in the lot. Three gaming marbles were in there. I have a few odd ones that were included and they are MK. I always like those Bumblebees. I have yet to get me a Girl Scout. ( and I am taking about green and yellow ribbon Marble Kings! ) I have no idea when those bags were used, this exact bag anyway. I'd like to know how many it originally held and if the marbles inside resembled those I got today inside it. The auctioneer may have discarded or cherry picked this bag. There seems to room for 25 or more I guess? I like Marble Kings a lot because those Vitro All Reds, and Cats Eyes were the marbles I played with 60 years ago. Thanks for looking and reading my post.

My favorite Indian

Some of the better ones from the hunt today!

Bags... Hurricanes - Pete's definition - Multi-color swirl with white, black, red, yellow and blue. Colors may blend to make a new color.(Note: Not iridescent). Then Tree Frog - Pete's definition - Green base with red swirls (no other colors). Iridescent finish. Tie Dye came after Pete's time so no definition from him. Doesn't show up on Didier's site either. Nor do I have any Tie Dye bag pics from Vacor.

My uncle's birthday 🎂 present. Instantly some of his favorites...

This is a great thread by Chad. No not be ashamed here--your best is your best and we all appreciate that here. Another one of my faves is posted below. Not quite done--it just takes time and patience. Marble--On!