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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"

I bought this postcard for a couple bucks I suppose maybe 25 or 30 years ago in an antique store and I put it in this art deco frame I already had that once held a picture of a famous actor named Robert Taylor. The frame has a hinged backdoor and I thought I'll take a peek and see who and where did this get mailed and when. So the back reads. From Ellen Owen to Miss Bertha Buttles in Ricketts PA. Ricketts PA is a ghost town. There is a State Park nearby named Ricketts Glen near where that town once existed between Williamsport and Wilkes Barre. This was delivered around April 1, 1907. I'd hate to be a post office employee trying to figure out this chicken scratch. I can't make out the town New whatever PA it is from. I am glad it made it's way to me. I have it right in with my framed cats eyes marbles now.

Probably my best find of 2024: Peltier “Yellow Lantern” 🟡 Looking forward to ‘25!

I am very fond of my spotted dicks. From the Advent Calendar my marble friends surprised me with in 2019.

I got this in the mail today.

She was one of my first oxbloods. She's pretty.

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

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.

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 ...

Blood pool

Most of us here have been around for quite a while. The very oldest Marble Board on Planet Earth. Many of us have decided to retire and quit or move on to death---not me. You know what. We have a responsibility to pass on the knowledge that we have acquired. The knowledge that we have is not achieved without another one or two or several behind us. There are kids at five years old that love marbles as much as we do at 25 or 105 years old. Let’s keep this thing going and pass on the Marble knowledge that we all know. I challenge you all to be teachers as well as collectors and be willing to be informed and challenged without any remorse or bad feelings. Marble—On!!

I always liked my Limeade with yellow.

Scored a .88" early onionskin with oxblood and jelly for 45 dollars

Marble King 😍 Enjoy 😁

Peltier ♥️ Enjoy the pictures 😁

Marble King, pretty colors 😊

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 .

Two Popeyes with that Colbalt Blue 1 Orange Cobalt and Green Popeye 5/8" 1 Red and Cobalt Blue Popeye 11/16"

Just pick out your favorite marble/marble related item and post it. I will!😁--a really tuff assignment, I know--just pick your favorite today--still tuff but here goes--- I never met Nadine MacDonald in person. She was the pinnacle of”just being a nice person” that collected marbles. She shared all of her knowledge freely and never with any contempt for those who challenged her. She was a “Marble Jedi” for sure. (She did know her Pelts very well) She also made some hand painted and glazed marbles that should be cherished by all. This one is one inch and I feel blessed just to have it. Marble—On Nadine!!

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!

Simple but rare 3-ribbon cork.

Here are all my mk transparent shooters together.

Some of our coins. There's nothing there to call the press about or anything. But like marbles, there a lot of fun.

I collected coins for 45 years or so. Just hung it up and these keepers are locked in a safe. My last active venture was chasing ancients. Most are silver Greek and Roman coins and a Shipwreck 8 Reale coin. I know what they are but the info is on a spreadsheet. Just eye candy for you I hope. Here's a collage of what I have in that dept.

Here is the start of my long-promised replacement of the seam tutorial I accidentally deleted a couple of years ago. Some companies are known for more swirly marbles. Some are known for having lines or patches of colors which run from seam to seam or pole to pole. If marbles have poles or seams it is helpful to show them when looking for IDs. Rather than try to define the jargon I'll start by posting examples. And rather than wait until I have all the photos ready, I'll post them as I take them. So here I am starting with some Master-made marbles. Masters often have relatively small U-shaped or V-shaped seams or "cutlines". Some people might consider them to have "poles" where the ribbons come together on top and bottom. I took photos of both poles here. Sometimes seeing both ends can help with the ID.