bumblebee

I gave 75lbs of them to my neighbor who is an artist. She carefully sorted them all by colors and patterns and will use them in future art projects. Prior to that my kids and their friends loved to bury their feet in the bin. I tried selling them on eBay by stuffing 25lbs or so in USPS medium flat rate boxes. I was getting like $35 for those. I still don't know how the other sellers manage to sell small beat up lots for so much money.

The fun part is I did not name anyone in particular. This was about general types, so anyone who shows offense is giving themselves away.

After five years I still consider myself a newbie but these are a few of the types of characters I have uncovered mostly online and some offline. Feel free to add yours: The Old Prospectors: We newbies look with awe upon the old prospector. He has seen it all and more. He was around when there were nuggets everywhere to be found. He has tales to tell, but for all that he is suspicious and reluctant to share. We sense he thinks we're out to steal his horde or poke around his honey holes, when really we just want to learn and drool over his findings and remind ourselves that with enough luck and knowledge, we too may hit paydirt and cry Eureka! Tragically, the old prospector cannot see how valuable he is to us young upstarts. We sense he has lost his enthusiasm for the hobby, which we cannot understand given his vast experience and collection. The Hermits: These are the fellows who have been around longer, and have delved deeper, but they come from a generation that was not technically savvy. When they have rolled into town and tried to contribute online, their enthusiasm and eccentricity caused them to step on toes. MAYBE THEY TYPED IN ALL CAPS. And, just like everyone in their generation, they expected people to be more civil and more tolerant, because they assumed their experience and knowledge covered a multitude of sins. Their feelings were hurt and they withdrew back deep into the mountains, where many of their secrets will die with them. The Saints and Favorite Uncles: You know them, you love them. They gladly share. Some are gentle and quiet in their vast knowledge, while others bubble over with enthusiasm even after decades in the hobby. Often they are lost among the grumps and egos, but when the dust settles they are still there, faithful as ever, still suprising us with new tricks up their sleeve. The Snakes: The snake has an impressive collection and sure appears knowledgable, but his thrill in the hobby appears to be more about getting more for less while building his reputation as a pro. Have you seen his 1" Pelter NLR he fleeced off someone for $10? It sure is a pretty marble, you say, but he keeps smiling about how he paid the old lady only $10 for it. What the snake doesn't realize is that his behavior ends up biting himself, and he ends up coiled up in a corner, cold and lonely. The Jabowocky: The Jabowocky is a vintage marble collector who was magically transformed into a fervent Jabo collector and evangelist. Jabo fever has taken hold of him and the only prescription is more Jabo. He doesn't understand why your enthusiasm for Jabo is not equal to his. He suspects you may be part of a vast conspiracy to devalue Jabo marbles, which to him are all at least stunning if not amazing. The G-Man; He sometimes appears at shows, or occassionally posts. His marbles are stunning, but his manner is reserved. You get the impression he has marbles from King Tut's tomb, but is smart enough to keep that under golden silk wraps. The Hot Shot: The hot shot is basically the marble jock. He has the swagger and he has the collection. He is cool, so you cannot really resent him, and he will let you look--but don't touch! You enjoy seeing what he shares but wonder how the heck he got so lucky so often.

Wow they look like brushed CAC exotic submarines in Pelt MCS colors. I'll take 20!

You history buffs might bite at this offer to get Newspaper.com for 1 year for $47.95 through November 30. Normal price is $79.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nice-Coloful-Marbles-/251726038900

Those agates are TOUGH. I was throwing one around the pavement recently (don't ask) and couldn't find a ding on it, so one can imagine the sort of activity that produced so many moons!

I remember when everything that was not a cat-eye was a CAC in my eyes. And boy do I miss the days when beat up marbles made me smile.

Would you say this one is polished too?

You might want to make a Best Offer option on the Ingram book. It sold in June for $15.50 on eBay.

Wow, I'll wager there's not an old house in America that has a lutz horde like that in its walls.

Pictures! Pictures! Pictures! Come on, some of us don't even see a vintage marble in the wild all summer, much less a horde.

I've always wondered why Peltier Golden Rebel and Blue Galaxy marbles are so uncommon. They have fantastic eye appeal. Kids must have loved them, so one would expect the company to have produced a lot more. Were they made late in the NLR line? Were they difficult to produce? Expensive?

Here's one with so much it looks more gray than black.

It looks like a chewed gum sulphide.

Haven't seen them in hand and likely won't at this rate.

Got some feedback on another forum that unless these were mint, $200 is too high.

I don't collect handmades nor do I ever find them in the wild until today. These are pretty chewed up but that bluish swirled clear-based one really caught my eye. Opinions on $200 price?

So any boxes with these marbles? Ads? Were they agates?

Reminds me of the bag of mint CACs found in a wall.

Here's the seller's reply as to their origin "I bought they on a german fleamarked.some bulgarien sellers have east german circus carnival marbles on ebay for sale and maybe my marbles are from the same time.because I live in east germany."

I'm confident Carl Fisher, the clay marble whiz, could reverse engineer how striped opaques were made.

A marble seller in the USA is selling some Bulgies as Leightons.

I have to say that the existence of "outie" pontils is interesting. First off, whether these were made in the 1950s for carnivals or recently for ripping off eBayers, the persons responsible for them clearly messed up in quality control because "outie" pontils render these useless as marbles, fake or otherwise. Since the seller claims they were purchased in bulk for carnivals, then it seems like the buyer got ripped off, or did the buyer intend on grinding these down before giving them as carnival prizes?

One taste of easy money and it's downhill.