Steph

Thanks! We don't feel so alone now. lol And thanks for clarifying about the clear base. Does the size matter for the Pastel ID?

Pretty marbles, Dutch. I didn't know that name. Jane, very nice set up. The bottom half of column #2 is related to some of my puzzlement. Three years ago when selling marbles like those on eBay I also called them all-reds without red and assumed they were "newer" (whatever "newer" might mean). But lately I think I've been seeing them called Tiger Eyes. But maybe I'm confusing those with the similarly colored ones in column #6. Whichever might be the case, I think _some_ of them from column #6 or the bottom half of column #2 might be older. No? Not arguing exactly ... or not with you ... just transcribing the debate being held by some of the voices in my head.

Here are some earlier Japanese cat's eyes ... distributed in little bitty boxes. Why? I don't know. Cereal premiums? Other premiums? Dimestore toys? Anyone? These are from Marblealan auctions. The first set is from one little box. The 2nd set are the marbles from 2 boxes holding 2 marbles each. That doesn't quite capture the look I was in search of when I went browsing through my hard drive. It's close enough for a good idea but there's another box I remember from somewhere showing the colors and vane quality which I like best. I'll add it to this post if/whenever I find it. This still isn't the package I was looking for. (I'm pretty sure it'll be a big box and the vanes will be more substantial ....) . But I think this bag is cute. It's "Hygienically Packaged". Still don't have the box ... but this is getting close to the look I like. I know I'm being silly. Heck you may not see the slightest bit of difference between this bag and the last one, lol, but to me the base looks cleaner, some of the colors are brighter, and the vanes are more solid. I like the translucent vanes too but I like the solid ones best. Someone who doesn't care at all about cat's eyes will throw them all away. But for me some of them stand out. Especially the turquoise ... love the turquoise! lol) No more from me of this type unless/until I find that box. You get the idea! The next Japanese ones I'd hunt up pix for are the earliest 6-vane, 3-color ones. Again, the difference between the earlier ones and some of the later ones is the tendency for the earliest ones to have brighter colors and nicer base glass than the later ones. Also, some of the earliest 3-color Japanese cat's eyes had special arrangements of the colors. But that's a subject for a separate post.

There's at least one more category. The later generic Asian cat's eyes. The modern Asian cat's eyes are blah compared to the earlier Japanese ones. (imho) (And then there are some relatively new Mexican ones which are quite pretty ... again imho. :-)

Lucky Boy Champion Marble Set, sold by Morphy Auctions. http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o151/modularforms/Peltier/LuckyBoy_small.jpg (click to enlarge) A different package, same name. This was listed in a later Morphy Auction. (Feb. 2010) (click to enlarge)

Bloodies boxes. This one may have come from a Bob Block auction (before 2006). Oh darn. I had a photo of another box. The bloodies there had a different look. More tranluscent, maybe nearly transparent. And I think the ribbons looked different too. Well, if I find it ... I'll add it here.

Cerise Agates, auctioned in December 2005.

Ravenswood game marbles. These were in an old chinese checkers thread here. I don't know who originally posted them. They are swirls. Size 00. (click links below the thumbnail for larger image) . . http://i119.photobuc...ood/ravboxA.jpg http://i119.photobuc...ood/ravboxB.jpg

Paul Bunyans bag. Al's pix. (click link below thumbnail for larger image) http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o151/modularforms/Ravenswood/Ravenswood_Paul_Bunyan_Bag__5__2_w_.jpg

Here's a post rescued from an expired thread about a certain colorful Cairo swirl. It sure is pretty. Here's one of Backacres S. org. close-ups from a couple of days before that, another one he dug. This one was large, 13/16". He said it was the biggest one he'd ever found.

Cairo novelty ... don't have many pix of those. Here's a screenshot of thumbnails of dug ones from Alan's archived Cairo page. Most of the larger versions are available at the archive, plus there are a few more examples which didn't fit in the screen shot, plus historical information of course. And here's David Chamberlain's Cairo article at Marble Mental, Cairo Novelty Company, Cairo, WV (1946-1952) More: My new Cairo novelties .

Here's my next silly question about something which I'm sure should be easy, but I just don't get. What's the difference between all-reds and tiger-eyes and yellow jackets? and are there other names for similar-looking marbles. Tri-color? Bull's eye? I don't know. There are so many Vitro names! Well, I know parts of it of course. The all-reds with red in them ... for example. But do tiger-eyes sometimes look like all-reds and sometimes like yellow-jackets? Or ... and that's where it gets shaky. Do some styles look alike, but the difference is in whether their base is transparent or opaque? Or ...

Marbo Kangaroo Puzzler Game, with CAC swirls: (click to enlarge) (from a recent Marquee Marbles auction)

American Agates, 25 count box, size No. 1: (click to enlarge) (I think this is from a Running Rabbit auction.)

That's good to hear! What kind of toothpaste worked for you? Well, it could make a difference, I suppose.

There are other Chrissie pix floating around. I started this with boxes I wasn't seeing in other threads. Here are a couple of lists of links to check, not updated on a regular basis, but there are some good things. Boxes could also appear in other sections such as "Gropper", "Jobber" or "Albright". Remember, link suggestions are welcome! Links: Original Packaging Links: Christensen Agate World's Best Guineas. Just the box, with Christensen Agate Co. credited as the manufacturer and Gropper as the distributor. Maybe from a Running Rabbit auction. (click to enlarge thumbnails)

yup. :-)

In the past few days I've been making notes of some of the rust-cleaning advice I've seen. Bar Keepers Friend has been suggested often, with Bon Ami once suggested as a less abrasive alternative to that. Dustin/Mordiskul said Coca-Cola and a Q-tip work well. Steve/SplattmanSS said "If rust stained or heavily crudded, CLR works too...cut it 50/50 with water and soak 'em for a bit...Then get a toothbrush...repeat as necessary.." Someone else said to try toothpaste. William Marbles said, "They are glass, so wash them like dishes.....soak them with denture tablet.....use a jewler's sonic machine" Galen has also put in a good word for the sonic jewelry cleaner. Some more manual suggestions were an "exacto knife with a brand new blade" and "triple 0 steel wool". Finally, I remember someone somewhere suggesting a very specific brand of white bath soap ... but I haven't found that reference again.

Check post #2 here for some cloudies: Moss Agate Or Cloudy Type Marbles, Akro, Master, Peltier, Alley, who else? for example, (click to enlarge) Edit 8 years later: I think those are meteors, not cloudies. Cloudies on the left here, Meteors on the right:

Thanks. The picture in Post #6 would have done it for me. As much as I read, things can blur a bit and I forget where I read them. So when I want to doublecheck, I can't find them. That's why I started these thread lists to begin with! Now I need to go back and reread all of the links!

I didn't have a comeback for that ... so I went googling. Oh my, I sure found a good one, but it's on the adult side. So I'm taking it to the Alley! ROFL.

Gry, speaking of moonpies and R.C.'s ... Mountain Marbles: An Appalachian Tale

I think it's a special kind of red. I think it's oxblood ... or something like oxblood. I've asked a question about it in the main chat forum.

American Cornelian Marbles, 25 count, No. 1. These pictures came from an auction some time back. These are called "bricks", right?

groovy :-)