Ric

Not necessarily odd, but I don't think these are common. I'll have to find it and take better pics.

It is amazing how well some of the old stuff holds up. I found another: Chinese Checker Glass Marbles Poly Bag

Hop Ching Game Marbles Mesh Bag

Alley wink cups

Chad, I am sorry you have trouble getting them when you want them! Some decent TriColors - 11/16"

Scarlett O'Hara Marble Game Rosenthal Jumpo Marblo Marble Game

Thanks for the pics, Al. One thing is for sure, the intensity of the color on some of those old veneered Wales marbles is outstanding, like the red, blue and yellow in that first bag.

I agree that equating "modern" with "poor glass" is probably not helpful. Some modern marbles have very good glass quality. The glass quality for some of the Jabos, DAS and SMMs is excellent, but they tend to command a premium price relative to marbles that are mass produced so they can be sold cheaply and still provide a reasonable return. Of course, the balance of expense, quality and sales numbers, is a calculation that most manufacturers work to optimize, regardless of their product. Collectability is an entirely different thing. It generally has to do with rarity, eye appeal and condition. The marble you posted above does look newer (maybe Jabo) and if you compare that white to the formula white batch-made glass in a good old marble, it doesn't even come close.

I agree, good looking groups!

That's a nice bunch of Exotics! A few Superiors here:

I recommend downloading them. 😀

IMO, glass quality can mean a few different things - sometimes, you see it all together. It can mean a more tinted or gray-hazy looking clear (look at good Vitros and Pelts for examples of bright crystal clear glass), or colors that are weak (not a lot of pigment) or that aren't evenly distributed (thick and thin spots), or the glass can just be kind of weak and prone to scratches and chips. It's sort of hard to describe, more like something you just come to recognize after you've closely examined a few hundred thousand marbles. Some types are just known to have "poor glass quality" and sometimes the only way you realize it is after you've seen 50 of the same marbles and 35 turn out to look that way. If someone says, "These are pretty common but they're really hard to find in good condition", it's probably because the glass quality isn't what it could be. Sometimes, it''s just from manufacturers trying to save money and materials during a particularly rough patch - like during WWII - you can see it on quite a few Vitro Conquerors, which are just sort of cheaply made. (That's not to say there aren't some awesome Conquerors!)

Here is my "Snow Globe" just for grins. I am pretty sure it's a Master Marble and they are not common. And here's a really nice one J_ding posted back in 2015:

Tommy, One more quick tip: on the Pincer-types the seams are often open (you can see the clear - the colors are separated, kind of like a "split" in the seam). This is also not a common trait on Vitros.

Tommy, Check out the tight U-shaped seams on the Pincers you posted elsewhere (you can see it easily on the left marble): You really won't see that shape of seam on Vitros.

I think the marbles are referred to as Wales, simply because some were packaged in Wales jobber bags (I'll bet Al has one he could show us), But I have seen Cat's Eyes packaged in Wales bags too. I think some would refer to the marbles shown above as "Pincers". They're a little different than the Japanese "Mt. Fuji's" Al posted in another thread (and I copied below.) The "Pincers" are a brushed (or veneered) marble. The seams are a bit more like Master but one tends to have a real tight U-shape (like shown on Tommy's right marble). All of this is, AFAIK.

About 99.9% of the time, I wouldn't even question Ron. But I have never seen a Vitro with that kind of a black bird-looking patch or base glass. I'll go with Ron's other idea - Akro (or maybe even Master, since the base reminds me of one of those "snow globe" types). 🙂

The left swirl might be Alley and the second Champion - not sure about the third. Most of the patches are Vitro Helmets (the front center may not qualify as a helmet but it's a Vitro, IMO) The odd man out in the back might be Akro but sort of hard to tell from just one view.

Most above are Vitro Conquerors (white veneer on surface) or Vitro Phantom Conquerors (white wispy threads). But Nos. 2, 3 & 5 below look Asian to me - the first may be Master and the 4th is Vitro. Just my 2 cents. 🙂

The yellow, white & purple in the first pics and the green & white, and purple "V" i n the last pics look Vitro to me. The others look Asian - some folks might refer to them as Wales types.

These are pretty common but the name escapes me at the moment. I may be getting old . . .

The left one does look like an Alley. I am leaning CAC on the right one, but it might be Akro.

The left is a Vitro Trilite and the right one does look lazy Akro corkscrew from these views.

That's a great piece of paper!

I like Vitros with a good bit of transparent glass and I really like the base color on that one.