tankgrrl29

thanks, roger! your threads are always interesting and informative. and your pictures are great! i didn't realize the surface/beachballs were harder to find. i have some only because of a lot i won on ebay never arrived, so the seller replaced them with as many of the beachballs. i was disappointed because they're kind of dull, but i guess i should consider myself lucky to have some that are less common. ~chris

it's not obvious, but all 3 marbles have aventurine. i don't know the size. 5/8 or something like that. okay hold on...i'll go measure...... okay, all 3 are 21/32 - give or take a 64th ~chris

(crap - it would help if i included the picture!) reply with your pick(s) after you vote.... (which one(s) - if any - do you think qualify?) i'll post the answer in a day or so ~chris

thanks for posting that story, smitty. that's some nice silent partner you got! who came up with the name 'citrus'?

smitty's one of the original collectors who "discovered" the citrus and others in the citrus set. *maybe* he can tell about the find and how they were named so we can save it for the archives for next time someone asks.

hey charles, that's great! real nice examples of all of them!! i was on my way to a 'set' but traded my citrus for a black/yellow/white cross through clear rainbo. now i've got to start again too! ~chris

dang, where did all these other posts come from? my 'refresh' key isn't working very well!! ~chris

planB, i used to feel very strongly the same way you do. i see my own place in "the hobby" in the way you describe. but i've come to realize that my vision was narrow. i guess i AM part of the hobby, but that's because i've chosen to be, and i've defined "the hobby" in a way that includes me. however, there are others who define "the hobby" in different ways. there are probably thousands of people who collect marbles who don't know we exist, and who experience "the hobby" in as many different ways. for me to impose my views onto them, and to create expectations by which others should conduct themselves is - in my view - immature and self-centered. please don't think i'm calling you immature and self-centered. i'm speaking for myself only, and i'm just saying that as a 'young' collector, i held this view that we were all in it together, and we had an obligation to each other. i now see that as an individual choice that i can only apply to myself. ~chris

i don't get the impression that any of the owners are concerned about establishing authenticity within the community or anywhere else. that's the point everyone is missing. that said, i agree with ken, that i personally have a curiosity that i would like fulfulled for my own knowledge. it would be great if someone would come forward and say, "oh - you wanted to see the cullet? i thought it was just garbage, but here you go....." or something of the like. and as frustrating as it is not to have answers, i don't believe that just because i'm a collector that i am entitled to that information. ~chris

okay, marie! what i should have said was that just because we feel entitled to the information, it doesn't make anyone else obligated to provide it. ~chris

not naive, just stubborn...... read my previous post. they don't care. they're not on the internet. (or if they are, this issue doesn't hold any importance) our desire to know more means nothing to them. (or maybe it would, if they knew we existed.)

hello, mibstified! i like the theory about the furnace clean-up. i would've thought something like that would produce more marbles though. even the peltier 2nd runs are all over the place, even though there was only a relatively "small" amount produced. Marble IQ Test: Bill Tow is to Public Controversy like Water is to: a. kool-ade b. instant oatmeal c. freeze-dried instant coffee d. OIL other things i've learned since this discussion came up: there are a number of people who are just 1 or 2 degrees of separation from the actual "finds" (plural) but who don't give a rat's patootie about proving anything to anyone. they've seen cullet, they know the situtation on where they were found and how they were distributed, and they know about the crappy ones found alongside the fancy ones. as was pointed out to me, the population of collectors on the boards comprises about 1% of all marble collectors. what we want or think doesn't mean squat in this scheme of things. hashing things out on message boards is just what these collectors don't want to be involved with. ~chris

sorry ponko, i really wish i could, but you know the old saying - i'd have-ta kill ya. drink a couple of mai-tais and cross your eyes three times real fast, and i bet you will be able to see it! ~chris

ayup.......bag as day here, as well. but as long as those marble-fakers haven't picked up on it yet, my lips are sealed! i got yer back, jeff! ~chris

if you find them, maybe you could slingshot a few over toward naperville ~chris

you only have to look at chris robinson's road & tunnel marbles to see the sense in what scott and ernie are saying. (at least in regard to the POSSIBLITY of someone faking a CA) kelly schmidt was doing some pretty nice knock-offs, and he was relatively new. how many stories are there about where the exotics came from? i heard they were found under the floorboards inside a building, and that's why they were so clean. that business about there being "only" a certain amount of time - bringing up images of frantic diggers looking over their shoulders...how did they have time to sift out the good marbles from the 'broken pieces of glass'? if i had to dig and get my ass out of somewhere before i got caught or the place was closed down, i wouldn't be doing my sorting while i was there with my bucket, that's for sure. makes me wonder if the people who tell these stories have ever actually dug a marble before. i'm really curious to know more about the fake "experimental peltiers" - does anyone have any pictures? ~chris

hey odin, do you talk like that in real life? in real life? hey dug marble, where do you live, and when will you be leaving? just kidding, of course. welcome to the board!!

seems like a good chance they were made around the same time as these windshield marbles. no way these are handgathered with that pattern repeated every time. i'd like to see some older marbles in those colors, for sure!

awesome story, and cool marbles! did you learn anything about the honey onyx? like, time frame, or anything else? i've read that they were hand gathered somewhere, which makes no sense at all to me. they look like they fall in the peerless patch family, almost an acme realer, even.

i don't know what to say that hasn't already been said. every word spoken so far rings true to the man i knew. i feel so lucky to live where i do for the simple reason that les was at practically every show i went to. i'd spend half the show hanging out in his room, picking his brain or trading stories. i learned so much from him, but the most valuable advice i got was on buying marbles. i remember when i was finally getting to a place where i kinda knew what i was doing, and i worried at that point that, if i did come across someone who had marbles for sale but didn't know their value, i could no longer truthfully tell them i had no idea either and just offer some lowball price. les was someone who really did find a lot of marbles that way, and i asked him how he handled situations like that. "if a little old lady pulled out a mint world's fair box from her attic, how would you go about making her an offer without ripping her off?" was the question i asked him. he told me, "i'd ask her 'in your wildest dreams, what would you hope to get for these?', and then whatever she said, i'd offer to pay it. it's usually a price that's still a great deal for me, but also a great deal for them, so everyone's happy". he also told me that if he came across something super expensive like a case of original boxes of guineas, he might tell someone "this is worth more than what i can pay you. i can offer this much, or put you in touch with someone else who might like to buy it". so, not only did i get some great advice, but i also learned that les jones was someone whose integrity i could always count on. i respected that about him more than anything, but a close second was the way he was so approachable, like lisa said. when i was new he always talked to me with respect, no matter how common a marble i might ask him about. and many times since the earlier days, i've seen other newbies come in and get all kinds of helpful advice. lots of people in his position would just get a big head and go on with their ''sucker born every minute" mentality. not les. he was as genuine as you can get, with the coolest marbles, the most fair prices, and a true love of the hobby. i can't imagine what it's going to be like without him. i'm heartbroken and stunned. my heart goes out to his family - if we're all feeling like this, they must be completely devastated. hugs to us all, in our shared grief rest in peace, les ~chris