psia-antique

The best ways to know about cat's-eye marbles are to buy "Marbles The Guide to Cat's Eyes Marbles" by Castle and Peterson and the other is to go to the marble chat board that has the longest running thread and the thread is about cat's-eye marbles (help, can't think which board).

Dr. Alley, what kind of chemistry are you recommending?

Wow! Bermar is the man! 48 points in an NCAA game is huge any time-even now. BUT 48 in the 50s is off the charts.

Sounds more like a super star to me!!! Young or old?

The only thing I regret was leaving my hat there. LOL. Two observations from here: 1) any bids on a CAT hat that will be for sale at the Vienna show...I got it for ya Brian. 2) David and uncle Ron, remember if you don't want to be treated like Romeo or the Rookie (he really did touch a hot mib) we know nothing...there are already too many experts.

Yes, Blue AV! There were about 15 families in the run. Many have never even had their pictures posted, but I think they are all cool and amny pretty because of the importance of what was learned by this short experimental run.

I have a few I would sell.

Bo, Bo, Bo, David only keeps one set of everything and they are put together for him by Dale so he, too, gets what he gets. The only real marketing for JABO is the little care packages that David sends to people as gifts after the run. There were so few of the Sammie's Sparkle Run experiment that none of the really great ones filled a pint jar. A few were, as always thrown in with the general mix in the Gaylord boxes. Naturally, these marbles would be given to the people who have worked most closely with the company so that those folks would have a more complete collection so they would have a documented history of the company. These people were all aware of the experiments and many others.They were an experiment! As a matter of fact, most people lost interest in them when the experimental runs began. For example, I had an Irish Eyes in my store for 4 months that I know you saw and never asked about and it was finally sold in December. Most of mine, I gave to other JABO collectors for the same reasons Dave gave his to folks. I have some left. There is a group of people who trade JABOs among themselves, not by Dollar value, but one to one so each has a broader and more complete collection. There is one guy I trade with, who I just tell to take what he wants and then he sends back things I don't have or know about. He has probably taken 200 to 300 mibs from me and sent me wonderful new pieces back...never counted how many I got back nor questioned how many of mine he took. We have never once discussed money or value...we have just tried to make sure the other guy's collection is complete. Yesterday, I got call from a friend who chuckled that he had out bid me some rare ones that neither had seen before. I knew If I won them, I would send him half of them. He was smarter than I and asked the seller if he had a second set so I would get some too. So, unknowingly we bid against each other and he won. I hope I can buy some too. He is a Pelt guy who has worked hard on JABO for 10 or 12 years. The five color aventurine along with 4, 3, and 2 color were an experiment done the day before the Last Dance Run. There might have been total of all of them around 200ish. They sat on a table in the packing room for members of the group to take. I got what was left. We didn't even take the time with the five colors to use the correct size fritt so some of the colors didn't even melt all the way into the glass. BUT, they proved that if it worked on the harder industrial glass it would work on the softer play marble glass. As the number of colors went down in the marbles, the results were better and the marbles a little more plentiful.

The big golden rebel is a little over 3/4. The other two are 9/16 and 5/8+.

Half Time! Go Steelers! My Pelt keeper box

Uncle Ron, Condolences sound so hollow tonight. God Bless you and yours. Steve

Yep! and orange fritt too.

I know a little about the Sammie's Sparkle Run. They were run on March 26, 2008. On the 27th, another experiment was run , but no where nearly as sucessful since they were trying for aventurine and only got oxblood. I was told there were about 34 families, but when I look at them, there seem to be fewer. They were sold in 2 different packs of five at 2 shows and had a signed card in them signed by David. They have been eclipsed by all the experimental runs in terms of recognition, but they are very significant in the history of JABO. Not only was this the first time JABO had really made the aventurine show,but these marbles changed the amount and visibility of aventurine forever. No longer do you need flood lights and three pairs of trifocals to see the aventurine. you can see it with the naked eye in normal to low light. On May 17,2008 there was another run called Sammie's Big Brother. These were 3/4 and all on a clear yellow base. There were 4 or five different families with different widths of aventurine. there was also a family in which the aventurine burned out to black, but some held a little of the gold aventurine. It is from these marbles that David really learned to control the width of the stripes and from the ones that held a little of the gold color that he learned how to get the gold to hold and stay in the mibs. The rest of the story you know. To the best of my know , the list of people who have these marbles is very short. The last time I saw one of the signed groups of five sell was at Decatur this fall and I think they sold on a down tick at $100. Since that time, there are now experimentals that have up to 5 colors of aventurine in them.

Apologies! It isn't my advice...just thoughts with which I agree...it is today's posting in Poor Richard's Almanac. Here is the link....http://ourfriendben.wordpress.com/ I spent too long trading securities to think of mibs as an investment...BUT they sure are great hobby.

Poor Richard’s Almanac Ben Picks Ten: Tips for Collectors January 28, 2009 Our friend Ben was just reading an article on what collectors should do if they needed to or decided to sell their collections in these tough economic times. It immediately made me think about the things collectors shouldn’t do. As a lifelong collector whose passions run the gamut from Pueblo pottery and numismatics to fossils and marbles, I have seen collectors make a lot of mistakes over the years—and have made plenty of them myself. Follow these tips, and you can indulge your interests without coming to grief (or financial ruin): 1. Start small. This may seem obvious, but it’s easy to get excited about a new hobby and start spending big bucks before you know what you’re doing. Instead, when you’re just getting into a hobby, spend a little on the stuff you want to collect and earmark most of your early money for books. Yes, every expert and book will tell you to buy the best example of soemthing you can afford rather than a bunch of lesser stuff. But (see #11, below) maybe the bunch of stuff will make you happier than just one thing. And maybe you don’t yet know enough to buy something expensive. And maybe you just want to buy stuff you like. Buy that $8 jar of buttons or marbles, and wait to buy an $80 button or marble until you’re sure you want to and you know what you’re getting. 2. Book up. Say what? If you’re not a book collector, spending money on books when you could be buying stamps, vintage hubcaps, Colonial stoneware crocks or whatever may seem like a waste. But it would be far more of a waste to spend bazillion dollars on a “priceless” addition to your collection, only to find out when it was time to sell that it was worth a pittance. There are books for collectors on most hobbies—look for them on Amazon, at sites that sell the stuff you’re collecting, in bookstores, and at flea markets and antiques malls. Don’t overlook your local library as a source of books, though they may be older; used book stores are also a good source of older books at discount. Some hobbies, such as numismatics (coin collecting), have magazines and newsletters devoted to them, too. Buy some of the latest issues at a Borders or Barnes & Noble (or, if your passion is John Deere memorabilia, at a Tractor Supply), and read up. I feel that learning about your hobby is as interesting and exciting as collecting the things that interest you. And of course it will save you money. 3. Look up. Remember that sales sites can be considered sources of education. For absolutely no outlay of cash on your part, you can explore eBay and sites that sell the stuff you want to collect, noting what people are identifying as what and how they’re valuing it. When our friend Ben began collecting marbles, I found several sites that simply showcased people’s private collections or identified a given marble company’s marbles by name and type. Often, the photos were better than the ones in my marble books, and there were lots more examples to check out. I also check marble and Pueblo pottery sales sites regularly, even if I’m not buying, just to learn from the identifications. 4. Hook up. No, not like that, unless what you’re collecting is notches in your belt, in which case keep it to yourself, please. What you should be doing is talking to real live collectors who know a lot more about your hobby than you do. Not only is it informative and educational, it’s fun to talk to fellow fanatics, especially when everyone you know thinks you’re bizarre to collect baseball cards or Betty Boop cartoons or Elvis memorabilia. Most hobbies have both national and local organizations; if you’re a joiner, seek and ye shall find. If, like our friend Ben, you’re not a joiner, you can hook up with other collectors and experts in other ways. Go to shows and sales, venture into antiques shops, look for forums and chat boards. Sellers who are passionate about what they’re selling are often willing to share their hard-won knowledge with you, especially when they see that you really love what they’re selling and have taken the time to learn something about it. Forums can be very welcoming, but if you don’t want to create an identity and get involved, you can still learn tons from seeing what others are posting. Whether you’re speaking to someone in person or on a forum, however, please for mercy’s sake be respectful! Whatever you think you know, there’s no law saying that you have to share it and contradict the person who’s trying to help you. Unless someone specifically and genuinely asks for your opinion, our friend Ben thinks the wisest course of action in these cases is this: “The alternative to the truth is silence.” And FYI, this is true in life as well as in collecting. 5. Bring the salt along. Having said all this, don’t believe everything you read, see, or hear. Our friend Ben has seen contemporary marbles passed off as priceless antiques, newly made arrowheads sold as genuine artifacts, mass-produced pottery pawned off as handmade, worthless or even fake coins sold as investments, and on and on and on. Marbles can be buffed or polished to remove flaws, coins can be treated to remove wear and even acidfied to produce the marvelous rainbow colors known as “toning,” a gorgeous side effect of age in an unaltered coin. The same is true of every hobby. Caveat emptor: Let the buyer beware. Wherever you go, be it a website, a show, or a store, take that grain of salt along with you. Maybe the vendors believe what they’re telling you, and maybe they don’t. But in either case, it’s up to you to sort the grain from the chaff, the sheep from the goats. And the only way to do that is to learn as much about your hobby as you can. 6. Learn what other collectors value. Sometimes, rarity doesn’t equate to increased value. If an item’s so rare that collectors don’t recognize it, it may be worth much less than a comparatively common item that’s hot. Almost always, perfect condition is a value and price booster. Our friend Ben doesn’t mind signs of wear, as long as they don’t detract from the overall aesthetics of a piece, since to me wear places a collectible squarely in its place in history. As a result, I’ll sometimes buy something most collectors wouldn’t, at a bargain price. But I don’t ever delude myself into thinking I can trade up on whatever it is or even sell it at all. It’s something I love and want, and that’s the end of it. 7. Remember the “guide” part of price guides. Many hobbies produce price guides that supposedly show you what various collectibles are worth. But when it’s time to sell off your stuff, just try to get book value for it. Price guides are educational in terms of valuing one item in a collection against others, but they’re anything but a guarantee of absolute as opposed to comparative value. When you’re buying, a price guide can help you evaluate different objects. When you’re selling, expect to get about 50% less for your collectibles than the guides say. And please, use common sense here! A guide that’s a decade or even a year old will not show current values. Keep up with what’s current by checking eBay, auctions, online sale sites, hobby magazines, and the latest version of the price guides. 8. Don’t buy what you don’t like. I don’t care if somebody tells you that that hideous vase is worth $50,000, or that sulphide marble is worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars. If you don’t like it, don’t buy it. You’re all too likely to be stuck with it. Instead, put your money where your heart is. Then, even if your “priceless” collectible turns out to be mass-produced, you’ll still have it and love it. And obviously, again, the more you know about something before you buy, the happier you’ll be with the results. Better to buy a “sleeper” you love and think might increase in value than a top-of-the-line item you loathe, as long as you know not to overpay for the sleeper. 9. Don’t get carried away. Like any addiction, a hobby you love passionately, be it toy trains or Da Vinci originals, can spell your financial ruin. No matter how scarce they may seem, it’s likely that collectibles will always be available to you. Use the good sense God gave you and budget accordingly. Can’t afford that Jaguar XKE this year? Trust me, there will be another one. Put your purchase in perspective before you put your family and financial well-being at risk. There is bound to be something less ruinous that you can buy to keep your collecting habit alive until you can afford the ultimate. 10. Rotate your collection. If you can see everything you have at a glance, be it Audubon prints or antique chess pieces, you’ll stop seeing your collection at all and long for new things. Keep a few Tibetan “singing bowls” or shells or vintage guitars on display, then swap them off every few months for others in your collection. This will not only keep your enjoyment fresh, it will also keep you in touch with what you actually have, so you don’t waste money duplicating other stuff already in your hoard. And finally, the bonuses: 11. Don’t catch a fire. Let’s say you’re bidding on eBay. You’re in the lead, and are looking forward to becoming the proud owner of whatever it is. Then, near the end of the auction, someone else puts in a bigger bid. You bid up, but they’re still ahead. Hey, you wanted that! You can’t let it get away! Before you know it, you’ve bid twice what you originally set as your limit (you did set a limit before bidding, didn’t you?!), and now you’ve won the item. You feel that sickening sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach as you realize that you were so caught up in the moment that you’ve ended up paying not just more than the item was worth, but more than you could comfortably afford. Before you ever place a bid, decide your maximum price, and don’t go over it by more than a dollar or two no matter what. Walk away; put that fire out. Unless the item is the capstone to your collection, the one must-have piece, you can do without it. It may not seem like it in the heat of bidding, but there are more, and you will eventually find them at a price you like. Practice walking away and see how quickly you forget whatever it was. If you need to, and you’re in a local store, tell yourself that you can always come back (or call and buy the item). If a day or a week later, you’ve forgotten all about it, that’s money well saved. 12. Don’t let the ones that matter get away. Our friend Ben is not suggesting that you grossly overpay to get something you want. But if you really fall in love with something, don’t leave the store or website without asking yourself if you’ll remember it as “the one that got away.” There are three things our friend Ben did not buy when I saw them and loved them, all because I felt they were somewhat extravagant. I have never stopped regretting them, even decades later. In retrospect, the money spent would have been worth it in terms of my happiness. Don’t let this happen to you. 13. Trade up. Tastes change. Don’t ever feel like you’re stuck with your collection. As you learn more and your tastes mature, you may want to trade in some of the earlier things you bought for something better. Just do it! Now that you have a better idea of what you have, you may even feel embarrassed to take your “junk” to an antiques dealer, flea market, or eBay store. Just remember that everybody has to start at the beginning. Maybe you’ll lose some money, but you’ll free up space and money for new collectibles. Go for it! 14. Never, ever consider a collection as an investment. This is the absolute ultimate very best advice our friend Ben could ever give you. I have friends who justify additions to their collections on the grounds that “they’re investments.” It’s all our friend Ben can do at these moments to refrain from screaming. Collectibles are not investments, unless they’re investments in your enjoyment of life. They’re pleasures. Like orchid growing or trying to find and own every scented geranium known to humankind, your particular stuff is just that, something that gives you joy. Buy what you can afford. Enjoy what you buy. But never, ever assume that you’ll profit from your collection. Maybe you will, and maybe you won’t. Make sure it makes you happy either way

Oh no! I hope no canary bodies with vulture mouths were electrocuted.

I am a little confused. As I read AMM, it sounds like Alox was a MISSOURI Company. Can you cite the literature that shows when they moved to West Virginia? I thought they were in "a Butler Building on Pennsylvania Ave. in St. Louis Missouri" as stated in AMM.

Early work! Nice piece. Please show some more.

Great ,marbles in great pics. I, too, started collecting Germans in the '60s. I have never sold one nor do I plan to. I stuck with them into the '90s. Then, I started collecting machine -mades. Now, it is worse than ever because I continue to collect both of those and contemporaries, and.... Great, pretty old marbles will always be great pretty old marbles and nothing will change that. There might however be room on my shelf for some newer things too.

ribbons, Again, you are speaking without the facts. May I draw your attention to a post on Marble Connection dated August 23rd and titled, “Jim King/Cathy Runyon – Guinness Book of Records Tournament.” Where I said, “I heard the best marble story of the year yesterday! Today a Tournament is being held in Kansas City. We all hope it is a success and sets a new world record for the Guinness Book of Records. Cathy Runyon is running it. BUT, the real story is a story in a story. Cathy wished she had more JABOs and as we speak, those JABOs are being delivered to the tournament site. Jim King came through huge!!! He heard of Cathy's desire and shipped her a bunch of 3/4 JABO shooters-including Jokers-yes Jokers. So you see there are many lessons here- Jim's support of marbles and in particular anything JABO. Jokers are being played with and on the biggest arena in marble history. Any marble can be played with by children. Children will always pick the prettiest marble and use it when the time is correct. Jim, I thank you from all of us for your great effort and selfless gift to Cathy and the young contestants in today's marble tournament.” Now if that isn’t enough for you, may I also draw your attention to our book David’s JABO Renaissance where I gave Jim King the ultimate praise by chronicling his work at JABO in print in two of the chapters. His work was under the leadership of David McCullough and that is where most people have made their error in reporting the facts.

Galen, Tell the truth. You are "mistaken". You continue to make the same "mistake" to hurt others. I for example haven't listed any marbles on ebay since early December. So you just give us lots of little half truths that are offensive. Sooner or later, I will list some of the Last Dance marbles, but it won't be soon....so I guess my marbles aren't very profitable...they are dusty.

No I " hijacked" that thread with facts of what really happened Nov 27, 2007. Here are the facts again so you have the truth! a JABO oxblood story from 11-27-07 #3. You were talking about the "Jim King" oxbloods which Dave made. Posts: 35 (Thu, 1-Jan-09 12:46) Reply Quote Edit MoreMy Recent Posts I will tell you a New Years Eve story and you can decide if you have the facts. I DO remember Jim King on Nov 27, 2007. I also remember David McCullough and Richard McKnight. Dave crushed a kilo of aventurine with a 5 pound sledge and then Dave put it in the crucible. When that glass came out, there was no aventurine showing in any of the marbles. While waiting for the first kilo to come out of the crucible in marble form, Dave crushed the second kilo of aventurine with the 5 pound sledge hammer. This time the kilo David crushed was gold in color. Dave then put the gold fritt in the crucible. Thirty minutes later, the marbles came out and they did not have aventurine in them either. So I guessed the experiment was a failure. But, we watched the marbles cool in the lehr. As the marbles cooled and the colors set, Richard suddenly said, "There is oxblood!" And there it was. I tell this story to you with some confidence that it is accurate because I was standing there when this all happened. I took pictures. There are pictures of these marbles in the lehr (still hot at the end of the rollers) in our book "Dave's JABO Renaissance" on page 12. Someday soon, I might publish a picture of David McCullough crushing the gold aventurine. Both Jim King and Richard McKnight are also in the picture-watching - watching as David worked. To date, I haven't shown the pictures to anyone because I didn't want to ruin a good story with the facts. So there is your New Year's Eve story. I hope you are pleased to have the facts. I saw and photographed this story on the morning of November 27, 2007 in the JABO factory. The afternoon was even more exciting. Happy New Year!

If you read the whole thing, you have read that marbles are not an investment, but a hobby.

Dave, Sadly, for your grandmother, she is big trouble with you as her investment advisor. She needs an investment advisor who can read-read a whole thread and read that the advise was "buy pretty marbles" and "no marble is an investment" It is clear to me that you did not pass series 7, principals and partners, members floor exam, or CFA.

Buy pretty is the only great marble advice I know!