Ric

That's a good point, Hansel, they do appear to have a thin glaze on them though. I found all five together in a big collection I purchased many years ago and I think the marks are too consistent to just have happened by chance. As I said, it's the only significant mark on any of them other than typical wear.

I think Bill may have had one that was over 1" - maybe 1-1/8"?

Keep going, you're bound to be right at some point. 😄 I do recognize this marble but I just can't seem to place it.

These common earthenware marbles are just over 1". I have five of them and they all show what appears to be a single stilt mark - the mark appears to be "as made" and is pretty consistent on all five. I am imagining there may have been some sort of rack with pins that the marbles were placed on prior to low temperature firing. Has anyone else noticed anything like this? Am I the only person here that sorts clay marbles? lol

Thom put these together as Christmas gifts for the children of some of his clients. He gave one to Jake too. I think it was a run he did with @Smitty323 but I have forgotten. Does anybody know the name of this run?

I can't tell if this is a seam, a reflection, or both.

I wish the photos were more in focus.

An unusually large amount of clear glass but I think it could be Akro - even though it has a "V", which doesn't always stand for Vitro.

@akroorka Possibility of any Vacor you're familiar with?

Honestly, the particular site it came from wasn't what I was interested in and I have no doubt a ceramic marble or agate, a CAC or whatever could have been found buried on Peltier property. I wanted to know how much confidence I could have that this particular marble was dug there and, thereby, how much confidence I could have that it was not a modern knock-off. I wanted to use it as a reference to search for more examples, which I did, and successfully so, I think. Does it look to you like the ones I got out of Germany are related to the one Billy found? That is what I am most interested in. And thanks for chiming in. 🙂

I could maybe see Vitro for the top left but it's giving me some Marble King vibes.

I suspected so but that's probably the brightest dye job I've ever seen.

Here are some "Opalite" spheres, 16mm - 50mm (~2") from Alibaba, $0.50 to 4.00 ea. https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/20mm-Opalite-Crystal-Healing-Round-Orb_1600690158533.html?spm=a2700.7724857.0.0.6d0e5a5cixz6nx

@schmoozer $2 each definitely sounds closer . . .

This one is bugging me because I used to know where there blue/green color came from. Does it glow under UV?

It's hard for me to tell from the pics. If the focus on the marble was as sharp as your fingerprints it would be easier. One thing you want to look for is "sharp", not melted, edges on any indentations. Opening or clear areas on the poles can also be indicators but I think some of these types may show a bit of that anyways. You can also look for white chalky finishing compound stuck in any divots, although that's not so difficult to remove either. Having said that, the little crevice just left of the pontil in your first photo looks a little suspect to me, and so does the opening at the pole. But you will definitely want to get some more opinions since German hand-mades are not my strong suit.

It looks like they are opalescent like Moonies and I'm sure they'd look nice in a window but I agree $22 each seems a bit much.

👍

When my son Jake was young and attended marble shows with me, Andy would always pull a top out of his pocket and give it to him. I'm sure he did the same for many children. He also made marbles. Here he is with some of his work.

Yes, of course you can spin them on any solid surface but that is what the cups are made for.

Those are toy tops and the cups to spin them in made by Andy Davis (RIP) He made them by melting cullet or marbles from all kinds of different sources including many of the JABO investors runs. The one with multiple dimples is used as a marble stand. Usually he made them specially for a particular run so the stand and the marbles matched,

@bjmarble That's a great case. I have not seen one quite like this before. The color is surprising to me - very nice.

Hey BJ, nice to see you here! That green one is great, I'll have to check my Chinas now too.

From what I can gather, it's a rare game and yours seems to be in very good condition. That's a really great find!

That's really cool, Bill - I like it but I have not seen it before. Looks like it was called "In and Out". Here is a link with some more info though. https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/antique-snap-ball-co-game-brooklyn-3929211404