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Not a thought in my head. I know there should be more out there, but I think they must get overlooked. For instance, I've grown so accustomed to seeing mineral spheres that were never intended to be marbles that I tend to disregard them when I see them. Think I may have been too hasty. Boy, with that one you sure can see where the variegated clay ones come from, can't you? And the lined crockery ones. I better start paying more attention . . .

Nastygram!

Yes, Winnie, I think it's an error marble too. That's also what the guy thought who found mine in the ground. Full of contaminates. I double-checked last night in case I was lying in my post yesterday (hey, I'm getting old), but I wasn't. The base of JABO's Lawnchairs (the regular ones) is that light icy blue that comes from cupric oxide, which is what industrial marbles are usually made from. The bigger ones called Lawnchair Woodstocks seem to have the same light cupric oxide base, although it's hard to tell, with all the opaque colored glass ribbons inside. The base of my two metallic ones is that weird dark ultramarine that jonfrost described above : "The blue is more of a gunmetal, blue with maybe a hint of green." And it looks like I had mine before the Lawnchair runs. Maybe they're all Alley Pennsboro. Stranger things have been true, I guess . . .

Damn fine.

I can cut marbles in half with it?? How did I not figure that out? walks away muttering . . .

^^^ What she said.

Condolences, Catfish . . .

Well, pull up a chair! We HAVE had some very interesting discussions this year. Wander through the Archives . . . and check Steph's Study Hall. I still periodically do both.

Well, I got a surprise last night when I backlit the two that I have that are similar to yours . . . they are similar to yours! The base is very, very dark -- quite black in appearance -- but if side-lit just right you can catch a glimpse of its color, which is a very dark transparent (!) blue that I would call ultramarine, for those of you who remember your Craola colors. Although it's hard to see much more than that, I do get the impression that the base glass is not top flight. Except for the fact that I cannot see far enough into the marbles to see any further details, mine match johnfrost's description: pretty much exactly: "no seams, no manufacturing marks, no deformation of any kind, whatsoever, and a fairly, nice spherical shape. It is a larger marble in the vicinity of 3/4... 13/16th's...... " In my own mind I'm ruling out the JABO Lawnchairs for a couple of reasons -- maybe three. Although I'm not trying to convince anyone of anything, yunnerstand. (1) These are bigger. (2) When put side by side with the Lawnchairs, the Lawnchair base, although dark, is fairly clearly transparent. These look pretty different, in that their bases have a very opaque-black appearance. Which I thought they were, until last night. Third -- not sure, but I may have gotten these before the Lawnchair runs. Wondering about the state of my records. I'll see how good I was or was not . . .

What happens in Dremelland stays in Dremmelland.

Aaaaand . . . . one I could have put in another thread, but what the heck.

I have two that may be similar, but I have to check them at home tonight. They look black (with a metallic "smear" similar to those on yours), but I've never tried backlighting them, so have no idea what the base really is. Will let you know. Mine were found at the Alley Pennsboro site,

What he said. Also, if you live near a fairly large museum, there will be a paper conservator there, or a technician who specializes in repairing paper (prints, drawings, books). If you can track one down they're usually open to doing small side jobs, or at least talking to you about one. Try the prints & drawings department first.

I'd call it a Joseph's Coat if it were mine. Not to say everyone would do the same. But that's where I usually go if the colored strands are distinct from one another and run from pole to pole. Can't tell if it has a colorless base or not. Joseph's Coats usually do. For me to call it an onionskin, there would have to be an undercoat (white? yellow?), and the strands could and would intrude on one another, and generally don't run from pole to pole. Some surface farther down and others disappear . . . But that's just me. And I've never seen a Joseph's Coat with lutz, even though I scavenged fairly religiously for Joseph Coats once upon a time. Anyway. It's nice!

I agree, Winnie -- The German slags I have that have the paler colors are usually more damaged (usually tiny chips or pocks), also indicating a lesser quality glass. Maybe a cost-cutting measure, therefore a slightly later time period?

I treasure (and use) my fifteen-year-old dremel with regularity . . .

Hmmmmmm . . . I see what you mean, Dave. I reconsider . . .

This one I think is German / Euro. Partly it's the gap between the seams, and partly it's the distribution of the thin ribbons of white, Compare to Winnie's picture, where it would fit right in.

I'll rummage around in my slags this weekend and see what can find . . . The SlagHag

And however you start (by color, or whatever), keep in mind that swirls can be a trial for all of us, and don't get discouraged. There are not that many swirls that have strong enough characteristics to indicate manufacture by a particular company. It's our Dirty Little Secret. Did I just say that out loud?

The cut line of the cranberry one is a little questionable, but I've found that a high percentage of CAC slags are "one-sided," like the one in question. Can't say the same about the Germans -- at least in my experience. The white is fairly evenly distributed, like Winnie's examples show. And the side view of the cranberry one looks more CAC than Euro, although now we know that's not necessarily a distinguishing CAC feature. Winnie, I agree about the white in the Germans generally being more in tight bands than is seen in CAC slags -- and that wide swaths of white on the surface (like on the cranberry slag) are less common on Germans than they are on CACs. Stayin' with CAC, for now. But this ain't a hill I want to die on, as they say.

Just a thin line . . .

I'll go along with that. Also think the probability of that reddish color being oxblood is high. Very anemic and bleeding out in the rain, maybe, but . . .

Not sure why corks have been throwing themselves at me lately . . . but this was too fun to resist --

Seeing those could change my mind. Haven't seen that seam type on an Akro before. And I've been struggling to see the base glass as CAC. Fairly unsuccessfully, so far. Maybe some CACheads will turn up.