Leaderboard

Some of mine

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.

A few of mine

Master Tigers Eyes

I would again like to thank all the people that respond to my many posts. I have been off work due to surgery. Today I found out I will be off for another month to recover. Marbles have really been a bit of a savour for me. Therapeutic for sure! I have had down days, and I head down to my office, sort marbles, take pictures and post them here. When I guess one right, or find something really cool, it makes me happy. I have learned so much in a short time on this site. Sometimes I get over zealous and post a bunch in one day. I apologize if sometimes I fill the page. Just know, this is a day I am sitting, and healing in my own way. Thank you again to all that respond to my posts. I have had some dm chats with some of you, and welcome anyone to drop me a message. All the best to all of you. And thank you one more time!

Ultimate Japanese transitional score from the Seattle marble show!!!

A couple of my favorite Sistersville Alleys . . .

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!!

I have had a few pocket marbles over the years but the "magic bean" is the one I've carried ever since I found it digging the Alley Pennsboro site with Nola, Ron and Billy. It's one of my favorite things. 🙂

A couple of my favorites.

Some pictures of the display 🎉 Thank you all who made this possible Forever thankfull Marble On Brothers and Sisters !!!! 🙏⚓️♥️

Some cool Ravenswood Novelty marbles dug by David Tamulevich in the late 1990’s

Last bunch

A few more

This one is nuts!

Last two for this Akro Friday, promise. Coral on Blue, it looks like a translucent base, but light doesn't shine through at all. Oxblood cork on a butterscotch or custard base 19/32"

They are "impossible" to ID until you've looked at and handled literally millions from various locations, and then they suddenly become only "nearly impossible" to ID. This one is Ravenswood. Size (many RWs are smaller than 5/8" but the late transparent swirls are commonly over)... fits the type. Bubbles fits. Peachy champagne base glass fits. Fleshy tone to the ribbon fits. Pattern fits. Coppery colored splotch marks in pic 4 seals the deal.

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!

My interest in Duck Marbles started from the brochures illustrated in “Marbles/Biidama” (2003) by Yukoh Morito, a well-known marble collector in my country who passed away in 2016. In 1992 he founded Japan Marble Association, making a partnership with this forum and Marble Collectors Society of America in the following year. His book “Marbles” features a Japanese marble history section for two pages. On page 29 is where we find the brochures of Nippon Special Glass Ball Mfg. Co. Ltd.. The company’s brand was Duck Marbles. According to the brochures, the company started its business in Hanaten, Osaka city in 1924. The founder, Naoyuki SEIKE, says he and his team of college graduated engineers invented a semi-automatic manufacturing process for marble making at that time. He also refers to American invention of marble machines in 1900 ca.. The brochure in Japanese was printed in 1951, whereas the English version was published in 1952. He had obtained more than 20 patents and utility model rights from Japan Patent Office. The monthly marble production reached 50,000,000 in 1952. (but the monthly production in 1951 was 400,000.) The original brochures were contributed by Seishin Seike, the second son of Naoyuki Seike, to the book. The surname Seike is nothing like Suzuki (mine). Also the first name Seishin is very uncommon. I saw a light of hope in this fact and started a search for the contact information of the same name person. I reached his wife Reiko (85), in Hirakata city, Osaka on 7 Dec. 2021. Below is what I learned from the lady on the phone. Naoyuki Seike, her father-in-law, ran a marble factory in Hanaten and that he made marbles was true. But it was a long time before her marriage that Naoyuki's business had ended and went bankruptcy. Reiko married to Seishin in 1960, a union arranged by her senior brother who worked as a surgeon in Maizuru, Kyoto. Seishin was the second son of Naoyuki. When they met, Seishin was not young (30). He had already been working for Zojirushi Magic Pot company in Hanaten as an engineer, where he led his team to a success of the first electric rice cooker. After 3 years of their marriage, in 1963, Naoyuki passed away at the age over 90. Before his death each of his children was given a bucketful of glass marbles he had kept. His 3 boys were all engineers including one who died very early in his late teens or 20’s. He was the first son who died in an accident where he fell from the marble factory’s roof during a repair. Sadly, Seishin passed away more than 10 years ago. Reiko kept the bucket since then. She assured that the marbles she had now in her apartment were originally inherited from her father-in-law. She washed the marbles and sent half the bucket to me. I opened a box full of marbles at night on 10 Dec.

Blood pool

This one even featured a few from my collection. A lot of lingering questions were answered in this video. Thank you @stephenb!

Another one of Billy's good ones . . . Bill McCaleb that is - his pics.

It's a happy new Thuringen Thursday and I am re-posting a marble from 54 pages ago. 🙂 I gave it to a friend at the Ft. Wayne show last year - he likes the oddities even more than I do and it was totally worth it just to get a peek in his keeper box - jumpin' jimminy, man! That's all I've got to say. 🙂

I always liked my Limeade with yellow.

I am riding my bike home tonight, alongside Lake Michigan. At night, it is like a time machine and I think about the people who lived and worked beside this massive body of water 100 or more years ago. But since I am going by bike I tried to conjure up a circa 1900 version ... and I thought of the circa 1900 ball bearings somewhere in the bike .... And I heard myself say, "Thank you, Mr. Christensen." Because M. F. Christensen revolutionized the manufacture of ball bearings before he applied his genius to the rounding of glass. Okay, not so funny. Lol. But it amused me. 😜

A big thank you for everyone involved in the New Jersey Show last weekend! We had a terrific day thanks to the awesome attendees and vendors ! Here’s some photos of the event. We maxed out our capacity and are thinking about moving next year’s show into a Hotel.

Akro Friday 1. Red, Orange, and Blue Special 5/8" 2. Red and Orange Special 3. Double stream Orange and Yellow on an Amber base 19/32" 4. Orange Spiral 5/8" 5. Orange, Yellow, and Lavender 21/32"

Peltier ♥️ Enjoy the pictures 😁

This marble is ⅝" is this a Vitro? Or a blended MK? Or neither? Lol

I was the lucky one who won this recent auction. I almost needed a medic unpacking this box.

More RN

Found with Tiger Eyes.

Antique store find today in this bag. 3/4” to boot! Booth also offered 15% ofF Needed something good to happen today!

Several oxblood Greiners and a couple lutz!

I needed to downscale my display and this is what I came up with The floating shelfs are new and work fantastic, they have a lip that stops the marbles from escaping. The lights with shelfs are super convient for boards and my peanut jar. Hope you like and it gives you a few ideas . That was the good the bad is the jars and boxes stashed away .

This picture turned out okay! DAS necklaces and keychains from 2015

Here's a Sunday Best from brother Bill - his marble, his pics. He loved a good Pelt . . .

Solid ‘candle’ core swirl

My best Onionskin . . . 1 15/16" . . . okay, so it's my only Onionskin. Turns out I'm starting to fancy hand-mades. Heaven help me . . .

@William so much fun. Thank you for visiting and thank you for this beauty!

One of my best finds from 2024 . . .