Ric

Thank you, I think the same, but it's really nice to hear someone else say it. 🙂

About 5/8"

I'm with you, Art, seems like it has to be that or an even weirder Akro.

A couple of minimal patches. Perhaps remarkable only for how boring they are. 🥱 And please correct me if I'm wrong but I think the red one is harder to come by.

Another Alley - no oxblood. You can find lots of examples of oxblood here. Some examples are better than others.

Oh yeah, and welcome to the Marble Connection too!

I think Alley on the right one. The left one is not ringing a bell for me at the moment but I may be back.

Me too.

For now anyway. And maybe I'll dip in the archives later to see if I can re-remember how to sort them. Of course, Ron might come along and sort them in an instant. lol

Nice marble, Joe. It looks like a variant of what used to be referred to as a Champagne because of the base color.

AFAIK, Ravenswood, Alley and JABO all made similar - another one of those cases where caution is advised when trying to ID them. I used to be able to sort them with some confidence but I lost interest in them and with that, I lost the specifics. I would have to go back into the archives and try to relearn how to sort them - maybe someday they will interest me enough to do that.

I don't think so. It's going to take some effort and known examples to figure it out. It's something I've wanted to sit down and discuss with @wvrons for quite a while.

I am always hesitant to ID Alley Ghosts from photos because JABO made some very similar marbles and they can be tough to tell apart. Alley Ghosts used to be fairly uncommon and now they seem to be everywhere. IMO, mis-identification is the reason why.

It's important to remember that only a few companies made true black - CAC, Akro and Peltier mainly, but you might find it on an early Alley too. On Marble Kings, it's usually a really dark purple that can appear black.

An Akro error and a JABO is what I see for the first two. I can't decide on the third - it might be helpful to see where that long tail in the second pic attaches to the rest of the red - my first thought is another weird Akro but it could be something else too. You nailed it with "weirdo" though.

They look Vitro to me.

Back right looks Vitro to me - a TriLite, I think. The others do look Akro.

@Mojo Of course, Andy Davis made the 2" marble and the stand that I posted. They were made with glass from the West Virginia Marble Collectors Club Run (April 2011), which is where the 3/4" marbles on the stand come from.

Wasp or Tiger can be a tough call from photos since the color is so important and cameras, monitors and perceptions can be different too. It looks pretty orange on my monitor which would move it towards a Tiger but you have it in hand and if you say it's more red then a Wasp it would be. It appears the colors are weak (especially the "black") regardless of what you call it and there is always a chance it's just a "tweener" too.

I think you've got it - great size for a TriLite.

IMO that is not a typical blue though. I think I am just getting old and my memory glitches more than it used to. I may wake up tomorrow and know exactly where it's from. lol

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