bumblebee

I wonder whether the peewees were harder to make? I cannot believe they were because it just seems like they would not sell as well, but still they are tiny so it's very impressive when you consider the way they made these.

I finally got my first green dyed true peewee agate, and again I wonder why they would have taken the trouble to make these? We know hand cut agates required a lot of skill and labor, were highly prized as shooters, and were not affordable to most kids. So why make peewees? Were they cheaper? Was it the same reason we like them today, because they're cute and dainty and amazing?

I use a sniping site partly because I like to put "tentative" bids on things in that site's interface, which I cannot do on eBay. Then as the auction end approaches I'll go back to my snipe interface and decide whether I really want to bid at all, or bid less or more. Quite often I change my mind and retract my potential bid entirely. Then when I'm satisfied, I can forget about it. For the casual buyer like me who rarely *really* wants something, it's fun to do it this way because quite often I am outbid, but sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised. The Ebay interface is too cluttered for me these days and I too have had problems doing last minute bids from desktop or mobile.

Gray. Snowing. Last week the plowed snow in the center of the street was 6+ feet high. I've only slid into a ditch once so no complaints! The feral cat outside whines a lot though. And no, I'm not adopting him.

Time to enter the Fantasy Box game!

A nine's a nine, even when a Bulgarian makes it.

Yeah I suppose it's a little unfair for me to pick apart a site frozen in time. Alan was always learning too I am sure.

My objection to it is while Master Sunbursts can be colorful, they certainly are not Akro Sparklers, and they often feature a lot of earth tones one does not find on onionskins. Whatever the case, they clearly intended on making bursts of color that especially look good in the sun.

Marble Alan's site states that the Master Sunburst marble "appears to have been an effort to reproduce the handmade onionskin marbles of an earlier era". Alan's use of "appears" and lack of historical source for the statement appears to suggest speculation, so I was wondering whether there is a historical source for the statement?

Steph are you suggesting we're all just happy accidents who have rolled onto this Big Blue Marble from the conveyor belts of eternity? Speaking of which, I used to watch that show in the 70s around the time I had a sock full of marbles I kept losing to the bigger kids! I will never forget that theme song.

Got a bunch of "same run" or "same box" marbles in a recent score. Most are basic blue and white patches (presumably Akro) but I picked out a few "tweeners" from that group to show the variety. Makes me realize that a lot of my favorite marbles are probably happy accidents. Finally, if the top left was made during a patch "run" but ended up opaque, is it an opaque game marble or a monochrome patch?

My guess is a sour grapes bidder told him something like, "You have several $150 marbles in there". I had that happen on a locally listed lot once that I got (and I paid well) and the second buyer came too late and told the guy his marbles were worth much more then the seller tried calling me up asking for pictures and stuff. Edit: But wow, even the mint is mint on some of those beauties!

Wish I had paid more attention when I found it originally, but it was definitely in the wild among other vintage mibs. I think at the time I failed to notice the opalescent base. Here's a couple of new shots of the 5/8" one (slightly less opalescent with no surface texture) and then another shot of the bigger one with some backlight.

Wow it's all over the map. Even Jabo with the additional photo of the smaller one of same type?

I had not heard that? I figured it would be pretty big news but I was wondering why he'd not posted online for years.

You're right. They match except those bubbles, although to be fair I have a couple.

Thanks. I am glad I had the sense not to put it with my slags, but I don't have the patience to split it into swirl maker myself. Would be neat to find the same construction with different combos of base glass though.

11/16". I feel it wants to be a slag but I don't have others like it so was just asking.

Wanted to see these tweeners again but sadly images are gone. Steph, did you packrat these away?

Thanks. Yours seems to have finer lines than my certain Twister. It seems possible that with the colors on yours that the right machine making could generate my CACor Vacor. Wish I could go to that CAC show and look around for its twin.

Another knowledgeable CAC collector thinks it's Vacor. Here's a helpful link on the Twisters: https://www.billes-en-tete.com/detail.php?id=63&lang=en

Well CACMIKE voted 100% CAC so this has been a fun mystery. Sure wish I could see more early Twisters close up. The newer ones have fuzzy blend lines and clearly aren't the same. Here it is in hand with one of the five or so Twisters that were also in the big bowl (Twister on left).

My first CAC vote. Had four Vacor votes with people saying it's an earlier Vacor Twister with finer glass. Here's more shots. More opinions please.

Digging through mostly Vacors and Imperials, I found several Vacor Twisters and then this beauty. My spidey senses said CAC. A little over 5/8". If not CAC, did Vacor make earlier/better runs of these? This even have some depth in the glass at one point. Colors in the first double photo are accurate. The Vac CAC is redder/orange. Anyway, if Vacor it's a killer and where do I find more of this "run" ? Edit: Found this old threat at LOM that talks about the early Mega/Vacor runs were much nicer: http://www.landofmarbles.com/phpbb/showthread.php?31199-vacor&highlight=twister A clue perhaps?

OK, I confess. It was on eBay and I was hoping you all had lost your glasses today while it was ending. Bids started today and the high bidder got it in a small lot of marbles for under $40. Now I experience that complicated emotional state where you want the winner to have gotten a great marble, but....