marble novice

And, Woo Hoo! The Cardinals managed to hold onto their game for the win. Brewers, here we come.

First... Peltier Multi-Color Ranbo, right? Now, my primary point of curiosity is: Where there are similar marbles, how do you, as a collector, value them, individually or as a group? More specifically, if they were offered up separately and you, say, thought they individually averaged in value at $1 each, would they, as a group of three, retain their $3 value, gain slightly in value because it's somewhat of a "set," or might they lose a bit in value because they're alike? I generally know/understand the thinking in some other areas of collecting, but I'm not sure when it comes to marbles. Here's another question I have for ya... The under-surface white splotches at 10 o'clock on the center mib and below 12 o'clock on the right one, that's not damage but instead fluffy whitish particles that sorta reminds me of mica. Is there a generally term for whatever that is? And one more question, unrelated to these... What *is* the preferred or most common term(s) for those subsurface crackles that happen when a marble has suffered some type of impact? TIA! Holly

Ah, good point on the metal caliper. So far, so good, though. I tend to handle 'em all as if it were Victorian mercury glass. Nonetheless, I think I'll have to hunt down one of those gadgets for these marbles. Holly

I've often wondered what was being used to get measurements that are in finer increments than the 8th inch and millimeter measurements I get through the small, brass pocket-size caliper I got from the local jeweler. I can pretty much eyeball the millimeter when it's in between and say 16.5 mm (then use a conversion chart to inches), but some days my eyeballs are just too tired...

My eye tells my brain there's more than three there, but exactly how many, I can't decide because of all of the blending. As for the blending, if two different colors are fully blended together, doesn't that up the color count by one? I mean, blend yellow with blue or blue with red and you get a different color, right? Holly

That's a handsome one, clyde. I love the thin lines. And pastel blue probably works better for boys. So, please tell... Who made that one? (Based on the first photo, it's a flame?)

Ahhh, I think I'm developing a well-rounded diet for marbles; I certainly appreciate the simpler, "meat and potatoes" and the varied beauty found in the older marbles, but these colorful, contemporary ones... they're eye candy! (I cannot figure out what's going on with that Geoffrey Beetem one; it's just a lot of ... FLASH! Is all that color inside the marble, is it a reflection of the neighbors, or...? )

O.M.G.!!! They're beautimous!!! But I'm still not sure I understand the initial question. Who's afraid of pastel colors?? So, like, maybe boys don't play with girl-like marbles (or is the message something else and I'm too afraid to acknowledge that I'm just being dense? lol!) Holly

Well, looks like I'm late (I'm always behind) in extending birthday wishes. (I was in Maine for a week; a beautiful place!) But here's hoping it was a fabulous birthday celebration! Steph, you mentioned Facebook... I have looked and looked, and found a few marble pages/groups there, but none seem to be very active. Any suggestions? Holly

Ooooooo.... Awesome!

"Much To Learn".... You got that one right! Not long ago, I generally thought marbles were mostly all alike, just different colors and patterns, but little that really distinguished one from another. HA! Boy, was *I* living up to my Marble Novice name! I've learned enough here to know that, in the scheme of things, I still don't know nuthin'! I will add, however, that while a few days ago I was ready to ... well, I don't know what I was ready to do with them all, I'm now really starting to enjoy the challenge and appreciate them for their uniqueness. Holly

Ohhhhhh, WAY COOL!! Thanks for the info, link, and pictures. :-)

Some photos, taken while submerged...

Fear not, I think this will be my last question for some time; I'm nearing the point of putting my marbles away for a week, month, or maybe another year. I thought I knew what I had on this one until I started reading the thread on "Joseph's Coat Vs. Onionskin", which included mention of banded coreless, etc. Now.... Well, see that silhouette of a person up there .... lol! (I did learn that looking at these when submerged in water adds a very interesting dimension to their study!) So, what are your thoughts on this one? It's 22mm in diameter. I thought onionskin, but I can see through the center (which I'm assuming means it's coreless, but since I'm a true Marble Novice...)

Unfortunately, there are a lot of people out there who are far too lazy, even when it comes to thinking. Otherwise, they'd realize they're just likely wasting their time, potential buyers' time, as well as their listing fee.

Purty! Of the ones in the first photo, which ones can you attribute to a specific maker? (I'm, well... Marble Novice. ) I'm also curious about the blue ones in the last box, and I have a few translucent marbles like that in green, blue, red, and clearish blue. Holly

Thanks, Felicia, for the confirmation on vane. I was pretty sure it was used to refer to each one of the points/parts, but wanted to be certain. So now I have about a half dozen things clear in my mind when it comes to marbles, with not quite a gazillion left to go... ;-) Holly

Thanks, Al, that does sort of help. So, if I'm understanding correctly, then, all of these that I have are cateyes, with the bottom ones banana cateyes, right, and presumably Peltier? (Although the one that has the little greenish-type dots still has me scratching my head.) As for the marbles in my first photo, using my jeweler's loupe to get a closer look, I'm now seeing that even on what I thought were "flat" ones there's six spines each, just some are shorter/smaller/closer together, with the set of six in three color pairings. Confirm for me... When you refer to "vanes" what part of the structure are you actually referring to? Is it determined by "spines", color, or something else and is the same true for cross-throughs? (Sorry for all the questions; I'm just trying to make sure I have this straight. :-) ) Also, Al, I did a search for but couldn't find the photo of the bag of Peltier bananas you mentioned. Is it still posted somewhere here? I'd love to take a look. :-) Ric, I had wandered over to Marble Mental earlier today and found that thread. Admittedly, I only made it through the first few pages because, with the different types of cateyes and my confusion on that point, I wasn't totally clear on what I was looking at. While there are a number of different types photographed, a number of them are just that, photos, without any insight as to what term best fits them. It also appears some of the images in some of the posts have since disappeared. For instance, if you go to post #70 by "PatryD here," it says "Here is another image of the strange banana type of catseye which has a green center, coated with translucent white. Does this show it better?" and yet I see no photo, and I am registered and logged in. Some posts are comments on photos in other posts, but include no post # reference to know for certain which photo is being commented on (and, as far as I know, it may be some of the ones that seem to have gone poof). The link in post #2 to Ron's marbles looks to have once had a rather extensive gallery, but alas the photos never loaded for me. Oh well...

I meant to add that, as you can see in the full-size version of that first photo, some of the centers are thin/flat. Does that put them in a different category or.... ? Thanks in advance for your help.

I've been searching through threads and photos here, as well as elsewhere else, trying to gain a better understanding of cateyes, bananas, hybrids, and the like. While I thought I had a handle on the banana, the thread here on "Banana Cateyes With Aventurine" just made it all muddy for me again. (There, the center one looks like a banana, at least to me, so I'm unclear as to what makes it a cateye.) Here are the ones I have that fall somewhere in the range. If someone can confirm which shapes are which, I'd be ever so grateful. I'm thinking cateyes, but... and these, I think, are bananas... And while I have you here, what's the deal with this one; it looks like it's growing mold. Finally, are there any things to look for that are strong indicators of maker?

Oh, I've been meaning to ask (no or ...) what are "mibs"???

Hmmm, admittedly I don't know marbles, but I do believe I have at least a moderate sense of glass. On the marble I previously posted pics of, if I had to guess, I would say 1970s. I certainly would never guess mid- to late 1990s, especially knowing the Illinois estate from which they came -- lots, and I mean lots, of old glass, some dating back to 1900, and the bulk of it falling between 1940s to mid-60s. I'll be curious to see what additional information that seller is able to provide (i.e., how long such marbles have been made, etc.) Technique certainly appears to be the same, though.