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Some of mine

This was a great year for finding marbles!

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.

@Fire1981 mentioned this to me a while back. I have now assembled what I have...21 in all colours and sizes. These are definitely one of my favorites

A few of mine

Master Tigers Eyes

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. 🙂

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!

Marble mail days are the best days of the week! Sincerely grateful to add this piece to my Leighton collection. Always on the hunt for great Leighton made marbles! Measures 1 7/16”. Thank you for looking!

A few Alleys found through the years

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!!

A couple of my favorites.

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

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

Master Tigers Eyes

Another shout out to the York Nebraska marble museum and cateye1212 on ebay! Scored these two awesome deep amber pinch pontil Yasudas. One of them even has some nice teal inclusions!

Kim here. Favorites are JABO/DAS and more recently NLG. Have only been collecting about two years. I go to a lot of estate sales so have quite a bit of "everything"... or they might be nothing. Time & ID videos will tell🤭. This group has been super helpful... so glad I found you.

newbies.

Hi,Alta Wow, I'd love to see these two in hand. In my opinion these are two Masters The second one is nice, type a helmet, I would like to have it😊 I will show some pictures of the second kind, Master Whisplers, considered relatives of Master, precisely because of their similar characteristics. Sometimes it can be difficult to tell them apart, precisely because of their similarity. However, in my opinion, the joints of Master are more pronounced, deep, and clear, so clean, as well as having glass that is much less bubbly and sparkling, in summary. As I mentioned, whisplers in general show (as you can see in the images above) an exaggerated amount of bubbles that the Masters do not have. Then, there might be the exception where in some cases they could be indistinguishable from each other, especially when viewed on a monitor, but generally they can be distinguished. I repeat, the key point for the distinction is the bubbles, in transparent whispers, although it is not an absolute rule. Less sharp and clean seams in the matte ones, compared to Master As for the color palette, I wouldn’t pay much attention to this, as both types of marbles have the same earthy colors. Now, I am not an expert on the matter, I just wanted to give my personal impression on it to be helpful, and I hope it is appreciated. Thanks again to everyone for your attention!

This was a challenge. But I persisted. It can be done. Yeah, I make my own hang tags, headers, or whatever they're called. Turtles are my next venture.

I agree, Winnie's are the most beautiful examples! 😊✨ Then I will add several more from the Seike family. Back in December 2021, Reiko Seike sent me a box full of marbles being passed down in the family. Some got 3 ribbons, some stretch like vanes. These below are a local find.

An article about my research was published in The Nikkei, Japan's leading newspaper specializing in business, economics and industry. While The Nikkei is best known fo financial and corporate news, its final page is devoted to cultural topics. My article appeared in this culture section. Below is the English version for the forum. =================================================================================== The Nikkei, 28 Aug. 2025 Japan as a Leading Marble Producing Nation : An Industrial History Behind Its Modernization Research uncovers the origins - and the creators - of the once-mysterious "nishiki" marbles The sparkle of a ramune marble and the gentle clinking sound it makes inside a glass bottle are familiar to many people in Japan. While ramune originated as a Western carbonated drink, it came to be defined less by its contents than by its distinctive marble-stopper bottle. These marbles also represent the starting point of the country’s glass marble industry. From the late Taisho period (1912–1926) through the postwar years, large quantities of glass marbles were exported. However, this history is not widely recognized today. The origins of this industry can be traced to Meiji 25 (1892), when glass manufacturer Tamakichi Tokunaga succeeded in the domestic production of marble-stopper bottles. This achievement marked the beginning of glass marble production. In the early years, marbles were made entirely by hand. As demand increased, production gradually became mechanized, particularly among manufacturers in Osaka, where glass-related industries were already well established. Before the war, the Japan Glass Marble Industry Association consisted of seventeen member companies. After the war, production expanded rapidly, with annual output exceeding 8,500 tons. These marbles were exported worldwide and contributed to the industrial recovery during the postwar period. I have been collecting glass marbles for nearly thirty years, and I share my research with collectors through international online forums. My interest in glass marbles also has a personal background. I was born in 1973 and was drawn from early childhood to transparent and reflective objects. At that time, children sometimes played with marbles, with flat marbles more common among girls and spherical glass marbles more often associated with boys. I was shy and never brought myself to ask the boys to show me their marbles. Glass marbles, smoother and rounder than flat marbles, left a strong impression on me. Later, I trained as a glass artist and worked for approximately twenty years as a lampworked bead maker in Sendai. Alongside this work, I began collecting glass marbles in the summer of 1998. In the late 1990s, marbles reappeared in toy stores through games such as B-Daman, and brightly colored marbles imported from Mexico became available. As I visited antique markets and curio shops, I encountered older marbles with unfamiliar patterns. Compared to contemporary products, these marbles carried a distinct presence shaped by time. This led me to become increasingly interested in their manufacturing methods and historical contexts. Among the marbles I encountered, those known among overseas collectors as “Stripeys” attracted particular attention. These marbles do not have a specific name in Japan and are generally understood as a type of nishiki or cat’s-eye marbles. Within clear glass, blended colored vanes create distinctive internal patterns. Because many examples had been reported in Canada and Europe, overseas collectors came to believe that these marbles originated there. However, the same type is also frequently found within the country. As a major producing country, domestic demand could be met without relying on imports from countries with stronger currencies, making Western-made marbles rare within the country. This raised questions about the commonly accepted assumptions regarding the origins of these marbles. In the course of my research, I examined archival documents and visited locations where marble factories had once operated, speaking with individuals connected to those areas. This process highlighted the significance of Naoyuki Seike, founder of Nippon Special Glass Ball Mfg. Co., Ltd., which was the largest marble producer in the country before the war. In 1924, Seike obtained Japan’s first patent for a marble-forming machine and operated a factory in Hanaten, Osaka. Through this research, I had the opportunity to speak with Seike’s daughter-in-law, who is still living. According to her account, when Seike passed away in 1963, he left a bucket filled with glass marbles to each of his five children. I was entrusted with a portion of these keepsakes, which included an example of the marble later referred to overseas as Stripeys. For Japanese makers and consumers, transparency was an essential aesthetic quality of glass, and this sensibility is clearly reflected in nishiki marbles. In contrast, marbles favored in Western cultures tended to feature rich, opaque colors rather than transparency. In 1938, Tatsukichi Isogami, chairman of the Marble Association, filed a utility model application related to nishiki marbles. By the following year, Seike had developed a related variant of this design, which later came to be known among overseas collectors as Stripeys. I self-published these research findings as The History of Japanese Glass Marbles (2024). At present, Matsuno Industry Co., Ltd. in Osaka is the only company continuing the manufacture of glass marbles in the country. Few people remain who have direct knowledge of the former industry, but I hope to continue uncovering this history and bringing it to light. By Aiko Suzuki

Fun Friday Facts. Akro’s are cool!

The weirdest thing yet that I have pulled from an assorted net bag. This is a totally veneered pattern with a bit of an amber glow in the transparent base when held to light. It is 21/32. I have heard older Vacors are sometimes found in net bags? Well anyway, I have never seen anything that remotely resembles this marble that came from Mexico. I thought "What's a Vitro Tri-Lite doing in here?" but this is so odd. And I do think it is actually very pretty.

Recent Alley Addition. 1”!!!

"Superboy" 0,70

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.

@crashbelt @Royal3 @Alta @Chad G. Wow, you've been posting some great marbles since I was last here! Here's an 11/16" marble I've never seen before. I'm calling it a Caramel Ribbon Swirl with Mica. Caramel Swirls with Mica are a thing, but the ribbons in this one are very similar to what you would find in a clear glass ribbon lutz. No lutz here, unfortunately, but it's a pretty rare find and pretty cool IMO. I thought about adding "end of cane" since the ribbons thin out and lose their structure before they reach the faceted pontil. I even considered "end of day" since it's such an oddball - no sense getting carried away though. 😉 Please let me know if you've seen another or think I might be off with my description. 🙂

Scored these popeyes and corkscrews for $35. One popeye has oxblood

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!

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.

Multiple views of one of my favorite

Blood pool

When I first started collecting, it was for any Akro I could get my hands on of course, and back then money was always tight. The Cobalt and wispy White were one of the first combinations I actively hunted, couldn't get enough of them, but I had to sacrifice in other areas in my life in order to afford these back then, and now they have a sentimental place in my collection . What I love now is Orange, love that Akro Orange, all 254 shades and transparency/opaqueness of it lol (please don't take that seriously, I have no idea how many different Oranges there are). I also love Spirals, translucent bases, Periwinkle Blue, marbles that 'appear to be same run' and finding them at different times and locations, and certain dug marbles. I know I'm all over the place but it's all Akro. Here are some of my Akro out in the Florida sun ☀️, usually when I take my marbles outside it's to get them out of the path of a hurricane 🌪️⛈️ So this was nice.

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.

vacor love…

I always liked my Limeade with yellow.

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.

@VaMarbles Great action in a few of those! @disco005 Crazy bright colors! Here's a 3/4" twofer this Slag & Swirl Saturday . . .

These are Modern Asian. The type often called Imperial because many were distributed in the U.S. by the Imperial Toy Company. The turquoise one has threads of oxblood. That's a popular thing to find, not uncommon. This family of marbles can be very pretty. And there are variations you might never see more than once. I _might_ have seen this combo one other time. For awhile I hoped it was something other than "Imperial" but I can't think of anything else it could be.