jstone

Thanks for the advice - I'm still considering the purchase but MIGHT try using something else I already have - then if I don't like the results I could try the cloth. I think what I want to do with my marbles is a simple "cleaning", or hand buffing/polishing. I believe most of my marbles are "common", and if I do have any that would be valuable their condition is certainly poor. Nothing I would think I could repair. That's beyond what I'm trying to do. So, I just want to clean up my collection without ruining any important features. This would be only for my personal enjoyment, not to make them better to sell or more valuable. The polishing cloths sound like they are exactly what I'm looking for. I was reading through some older threads pertaining to polishing, and one question I have is about the danger associated with the polishing and cleaning of the marbles. Should I wear a special mask/filter if I'm going to do something like clean them with "Bar Keeper's Friend"? (That's what I'm thinking about trying before the cloth). What if I do use the cloths? If doing either of those things would send microscopic bits of glass all over the place, I'll pass on the whole thing. It was my impression that machine polishing would be what you need to be careful with - it didn't occur to me that I would need a mask for hand polishing. To sum this up: 1- If I use Bar Keepers Friend on my marbles would it leave a haze on the marbles AND would I need to wear a special mask/filter? 2- If I go with the jeweler's rouge cloth should I wear a mask/filter? Thank you all, I may just end up using a cloth diaper like Marblemiser!

I was looking at the "Land of Marbles" website and came across these polishing cloths I was thinking of getting. I'm looking for something that can give my marbles a nice shine, but I don't want to ruin any seams or pointil marks that may be useful to identify the marble. Has anyone used these? Should I use them or would that be a terrible idea? Are there any pros or cons? I copied a description of the cloths (as seen on "Land of Marbles" website) below: "The Fabulustre clotháis the simplest method of polishing a marble that has a mild haze. It is two sheets of fine flannel sewn together - one sheet is impregnated with red jeweler's rouge and the other is untreated. Use the red sheet to polish, and the yellow sheet to buff. Each cloth is printed "Good until worn to shreds!" The cloth's pouch measures 7x5" but the cloth unfolds to a 10" square. Red jeweler's rouge is a very fine abrasive and may take some time to bring glass up to a wet-looking finish, but you aren't going to scratch the glass or dull it as you would with polishing pads. It definitely won't repair a scratched or dinged-up marble (at least not quickly...), but it's safe for bringing back the wet look from a hazy area, or buffing mint marbles to bring out that wet shine. (These cloths are widely used in the jewelry trade - the cloth will also polish and clean (removing any tarnish) from gold, silver (and silverware), nickel and jewelry. For a quick testing of it's power, try polishing your pocket change - it's like magic!)" Any comments would be appreciated! -Jessica

LOVE IT!!!

Beautiful marbles!!! I've never attended a show before, it looks like fun. I'll have to be on the lookout for any in my area. Thanks for the pics!

Thanks again for the responses. Personally, the most valuable marbles in the world belong to me! They belonged to my grandpa, so even though I think they are mostly "common" types - they're priceless! That being said, I'd LOVE to have aa antique beauty made in Murano (Italy). Simply because of my ancestry. I'm not even sure if "marbles" were ever made there, but I'm curious... More research for me! I've mentioned this before, but I'll say it again; I'm new at this. This group has been so very helpful in all my posts, and even from reading archived material and older posts. Thanks y'all! -Jessica

Interesting!!!!! Thanks for your answers!

My husband is mystified by my new marble obsession. He posed this question to me that I thought I'd throw out to all you fellow marble enthusiasts. Is there a "crown jewel" of marbles? Like a 1909 Honus Wagner baseball card? Is there a particular type that would be considered the "best"? Just wondering what you all think! (My answer was not really - but I'm not a collector either, so what do I know?)

Very nice!

Now that I've figured out I have a cute little yellowish clear marble that contains Manganese...does anyone know if a certain company used Manganese? I'm guessing it was common - but it can't hurt to ask! Could this be something that would help i.d. it? I'm still meaning to photograph it, but I haven't had a chance yet. Thanks for any thoughts, Jessica p.s.- The marble dates from the 1920's or 30's - my best guess.

Thanks so much for the info! I found a very informative site about vaseline glass: http://www.vaselineglass.org/ (I think Steph posted it on a different topic/thread) I had a nifty little phrase at the end of the page, "If it doesn't glow green, it's not vaseline". I suspected it wasn't uranium/vaseline because of the orange color and MANGANESE it is!!!! Yippeee! I know what it is! The others I do have that are vaseline or custard are more of a green, yellow, or even dull white - the bright, bright orange just didn't fit in. The e-bay link with the manganese glass pics. was a great starting point - I also looked up info about manganese and manganese glass from other sources and I'm pretty confident that's what I've got. As for the value of my mibs, I'm under the assumption mine aren't very valuable - simply because they've been played with and all the REALLY old ones wouldn't be in mint condition. It doesn't matter to me though, they were my grandpa's and I've got fond memories of him getting on the floor to play when I was little. Plus, I love having such "ordinary" objects that are so beautiful...it's like having 450 mini pieces of art in a jar. I'm having fun just trying to i.d. them. Thanks everyone for your help. I'm so appreciative of how helpful people are whenever I post a question or need help w/ i.d.'s. This group is fantastic!

I have a pretty ordinary looking clear yellowish marble. Clear as in you can see through it. When I was showing my kids what my collection looked like under a black light - it made us gasp! I had it with the group that I didn't think would do anything special, but when the black light hit it we noticed a super bright orange patch/haze throughout the marble. It jumped out because the orange is soooooo bright. I'll try to photograph it tomorrow - but I was wondering if anyone could tell me anything about the makeup of the marble? I thought vaseline glass (which would be a good description of the color of the marble if we named them like crayon colors) glowed sort of a bright greenish/yellowish under black light? What is it that glows orange? Thanks for any help - I'm learning so much from these forums but there is so much info. it's hard to process it all in the short time I've been learning. I can't recall if I've seen anything about this issue. Thanks! Jessica