bumblebee

Any opinion on these fancies? They strike me as very similar to lots sold by youhave2bid2win: http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-MARBLES-ANTIQUE-TOY-BENNINGTON-CLAY-LOT-OLD-FANCIES-/170909966391?pt=Marbles&hash=item27cb072037

They look like orchids trapped in glass. Beautiful. So you're the one who keeps winning those ones on eBay!

Is there a way to open them without destroying them? Maybe mine will contain some CACs.

It's like somebody slipped Peltier Rainbo glass into a Master Made machine.

We newer collectors are often puzzled by how you old timers behave, so we keep our distance and assume this is just how things are done in the hobby. We keep our respect too, because we want to maintain access to your marble hoards.

youhave2bid2win could expand her operations dramatically with such a machine....I bet she'll start buying up cullet. She could finance this machine with her fake fancy bennies.

Sold for $99...the blue chicken has a new owner. And isn't it nice to know Benningtons are still being manufactured today.

One could argue that this marble will, in fact, one day be an antique. In that sense the buyer is investing in the future.

Most of the exotic marbles pictured in this post do not look any more exotic or less contemporary than these examples which have been machine made in the last 8 or so years: http://www.glassartists.org/Gal13756_2005_10.asp http://www.glassartists.org/Gal34122_2008-09.asp http://www.glassartists.org/Gal34288_2008-10.asp Do we really believe that the CAC glass artists thought these perfectly flawless and amazing marbles were junk and ritually buried them rather than sell them (or keep them), and then kept focusing on making swirls and the occasional guineas because the little boys would never like such amazing and colorful marbles?

I thought Jabos were actually Peltiers, Akros, CACs, and Vitros. Seems like that's how everyone sells them on eBay these days.

Yeah, I wanted the two mint CAC exotic striped opaques too.

Word on the street the "Japanese pinch pontils" are from the 1930s...so I wonder what the ones made in 1907 look like?

Part of joining a club ("marble collectors") is fitting in, at least for me. That means imitating to fit in and to learn. So I caught on immediately that Akro and CAC were hot. When I dug through my first lot, it contained several minty Vitro black lines with gorgeously vivid colors. My eye was pleased, but my brain intruded like a nagging step-mother, "But those aren't CAC or Akro. What's more, they're not that old." I remember when I found my first Popeye, I felt I had arrived. It was like a merit badge. But I was not all that excited about the marble itself. My excitement had more to do with its present monetary value and its scarcity, rather than its aesthetic qualities. Now I've matured and learned that while scarce might mean valuable, it doesn't necessarily mean beautiful. To really collect what you enjoy you sort of have to not care what others think and become like a child, who knows nothing of the value or the history, and just enjoy them for what they are. Your eye will grow keen and the nagging step mother won't interfere with you anymore. So yeah, I've got some nice Popeyes I'd be happy to trade at the next marble show for Vitros...oh wait, hardly anyone brings Vitros to the marble shows...

I have a couple of other marbles with accidental birds on them. Birds have very swirl-like lines, after all. Sorry Rylee, this one's not for sale!

Two lashes are preferable on Pelt Geese, but these are so rare, I'll take four if i have to!

Wow, do I see a 1" vaseline slag in there?

Dang, whoever polished that took off *a lot* of the original glass...just kidding...

Did you look over the pics here, here, here, and here ? Unfortunately the detail on some of the group photos doesn't cut it but it might give a rough idea.

It's amazing what people will see or won't see based on the amount of money put in front of their eyes. He sure didn't explain its provenance.

What's special about that Vacor? Is it particularly old, actually handmade? I'm just not up on those. I have one very similar that's 7/8" but it's bouncing around in a bag of other new Vacors.

youhave2bid2win = http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=772&item=260904470817 also http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=772&item=250954269063 (fake fancy benningtons, etc)

Wow, Alan's chunks of oxblood steak are beautiful...but too rare for my tastes.

I'd like to see more before and after examples of this technique. I have quite a few fogged up marbles that aren't missing glass, but are just really cloudy from rubbing against each other for decades. I would sure enjoy seeing a few of them shine again. But then, I'm not one to sell marbles and these wouldn't be worth much fog or shine anyway.

Could you post some closer-up before and after examples?

Only slightly out of round. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Clay-marble-vintage-marble-/360422381482