Scoop

I'm with Ben... It looks to me as if the base color is the cobalt... I can understand the use of submarine, because it obviously has what looks to be white, subbed under the blue... Thing is... If it was a clear base, it wouldn't be noticed as much... So, does that qualify for a Submarine?? I don't think I've ever been totally sure about the correct submarine definition, but I can understand why the term would be thrown around here, correct, or not.... If it's leaning toward an Indian or Banded Opague definition (except it's obviously not opague...) Does the "Mag Light" term come in?? Damn, J... It IS gorgous!!!!

Griff, I think you nailed it!! That statement should be carved in stone...... Maybe Marble?? LOL

Holy Molies!!! It's amazing that these things can still generate that kind of money..... Very Sad!!!

Cool Beans!!!

LOL... Yeah, I caught that, too!!! LOL

Yep, those would have 2 pontils... These were made from long glass canes... It's all hot, but one end is heated to pliable soft and placed into a rounding cup, causing it to be smooth... Then the other end is heated, twisted and cut with a sort of blade... That leaves that end a little rougher. Some of those rough ends were hand ground to faceted smooth.... I think those were older??..... Others were just left a little rough. While still soft enough to be shaped, the marble was dropped onto a rotating surface that finished the rounding process.... The next end section of the cane is heated and the process repeats to the end of the cane.

Carole, is that a "Floating Rose" jar? They came with a real rose floating in some sort of fluid that kept it looking fresh... The opening of the jar screws into a black base.... I think I have one around here somewhere.... I'm famous for buying these cool things to use for display, but never actually DOING it!!! LOL :Sad_headshake_tweetz:

Wow, that's wild!! I never knew it!! If they couldn't fire and their products were primarily slate based, would that mean the marbles were of the ground round slate / sandstone type? Wouldn't it be wild to find evidence of Goebel being the maker of the German crockery / china marbles?? There has been a change in the Hummel manufacturer.... Either Goebel is closing, or has been bought out by another company, recently... (It's too late and I'm too tired to search out the info!!! LOL)

I think I've posted this before... The bottle shown as contemporary Japanese, is available in the US at some retailers... In New England, Newbury Comics sells Ramune Soda.... It's super sweet!! Maybe even too sweet for someone with a real sweet tooth!! There's no inscription on the bottle, because it comes with a plastic shrink label.... Ramune Soda

Great pics, Edna!!! WOW, does Weldon stand out like a ray of sunshine!!! ROFL!!! It's so good to know he's OK!!!

Hmmmmm.... I *think* all ceramics would be considered "clay-based"... Maybe I'm wrong. I never studied it in a verbally technical way!! LOL But, I always considered clay a general term for a ceramic base... What type of clay determines the final product... Kinda like "glass" is glass... But, there's many types of glass... I also *think* bennies would be a bisque or porcelain type of base... It seems to me, a broken bennie is pretty white inside, with a high density... Much the same as an unglazed china (Which makes sense, since they probably came from the same place.) Stoneware is usually gray or tan and less fine. Bennies are often considered crockery... But, I don't think the type of clay used is really a "crockery" type... Interesting that the real Bennington products that bennies were named after were made of stoneware.

OK... After going through all that diatribe... I looked at a couple of great photos in an auction of uncmikie's I hope, if I plug the AUCTION, it'll be OK to use the pictures?? Since there are 2 of the eyes I mentioned above, on this marble... I'm wondering if that's where they stuck together and look to be cut apart?... It seems to me, if you look at those eyes, closely, they look like they've been filed, or sanded.... The "sit spot" on this marble, looks to be the light area, with sand in it towards the bottom? Maybe they sat on a type of oven brick, like kitty litter?? This picture shows the "screen" pattern... This may also be a thick weave canvas... In all the pottery classes I took in school, we always worked on heavy canvas "placemats." The clay dries on it and shakes off without sinking into the weave. That may have have been the surface they dried on....

Hey Janice, make NO MISTAKE, I'm as positive as I can possibly be, that the eagle and dated bennies are total fakes.... I really like the eagle and if I could get one cheap, without inspiring the maker to make more (as old) I'd love to have one... But, as long as they are represented as old, I'll hold off. WOW Paula, lots of interesting questions there!!! I don't think anyone has ever paid enough attention to ask or answer those questions... I can't say for sure, cuz I really don't know.... But, I've always assumed that bennies were glazed on some sort of a tray that the glaze would not stick to.... What surface would that be, at that time??? I dunno.... I guess that's why there's no answers!!! LOL It would take factory history to answer and I don't know of anyone whose done that.... I can say that the marbles DID stick to each other... I've never seen larger sizes stuck together, but I have a couple of siamese twins and triplets in peewee sizes. I think... The eyes that look very flat, but have a ring of glaze (often blackish on the browns) are where they sat. Other eyes and some chips, would be where they touched, or were very close. Were they stacked??? Hmmm, another interesting question.... I would think the glaze would make too much mess for that... And, it would be difficult to control the kiln temperature if they were not laid flat... It just seems like that would cause more issues than savings, over single layer trays.... How were the clay balls formed??? Again... Interesting question.... Glass marbles were rounded on a rotating cooling surface... I'd bet, crockery marbles were rounded the same way... For the era, I'd bet very young workers, or women, were employed to gather and hand round wads of clay, then drop them onto the rotating surface that rounded them evenly... BUT, this is all conjecture... I have no evidence to back that up. (I bet it's in a book somewhere... But, I confess to not reading a lot of that sort of history!!! LOL)

Ah HA!!! HAppy B-Day, Paula!!!! :Party_fest30: I know Ms. Red Rose Tea doesn't stop in all that often... But, she's Paula, too!!!

I've seen many with screen imprints, too... Before pottery can be fired, it has to be TOTALLY dry (or, it will crack from drying too fast) I think the screen imprints are in the clay, not the glaze... It would make sense for crockery marbles to be dried on screens. If placed to dry when they're still very soft, the screen pattern could be pressed in. Then, when the glaze is added, texture shows through. If glazed on the screen, the glaze would stick fast to it. They had to be on some sort of stilted surface. The little tripod things look like these I find it hard to fathom that each marble would have it's own tripod...

Just a little bit of time left!!! Rock it, Man!!!! :Party_fest30: :Happy_143:

Which Paula?? Happy Birthday!!!

I agree... There are some that are pretty nice... Like I said above, those will be the ones that rise to be collectible... More for what they look like, than what they are... These are only factory made by the thousands as plain white ceramic balls (for industrial use) The "painting" is done by private "entrepreneurs," who sell them as antique.

NICE!!! Who made the contemp???

Depends on which ones your referring to... Nadine has been making ceramic marbles~~~ Signed and Dated~~~ since 1995... The so-called "Atlanta" marbles came from a construction site during the creation of the Atlanta Olympics.... The games were in 1996... It took a while for the "Story" of an old Atlanta marble factory, to evolve... These are industrial ceramic "mill balls" that entered onto the market simply dyed solid bright colors... Then, designs were added... The first I remember seeing, were white stenciled stars of base color, with the dye added around them... That's about the time they became "civil war era." Since then, the fantasy has grown into every possible stretch of the imagination (These were used as ammo when the Rebel soldiers ran out of bullets..... etc., etc.) The timing of these marbles hitting the market was perfect!!! The first ebay sale happened in 1995... By the time ebay was creating a world wide "hum," these marbles were looking for a wider circle of suckers.... Home computers was the ideal venue!!! There is an element about them that is very cool... IF you can understand and get past the intent of their creation.... We've had several "invasions" of marbles that were marketed to be more than they actually are... Initially, the revelation creates fear and horror!!! Then, things settle down a little and most people become older and wiser.... Once the full cat is out of the bag and we have an idea of what is available and what the quantity is, they seem to be grudgingly accepted into the hobby... The California Sulphides created a terrible rift in the marble world.... First, they sold for HUGE amounts... Then, it was pretty well established that they were fakes (Lloyd, are there still people who believe???) The prices dropped to NOTHING!!! Now, they are actually such a part of marble collecting history, they have aquired a value of their own.... And, due to the quantity, it's not a bad price tag!! (Unless you were one of the people who paid the ORIGINAL price!!! ) Soooo, let's get back to these chinas.... Unlike the California Sulphides, that had one origin and a limited number... There is probably an endless supply of Industrial mill balls and Sharpie pens.... I've seen some that were kinda cool... There may come a day when the better ones rise to the top and become collectible.... But, that's really a stretch.... Of course, I remember saying, "There may come a day when Catseyes become collectible... But, that's really a stretch!!" The question becomes... Do we want to encourage it?? We can't stop it.... It's getting to the point where the suckers are fewer and fewer... At what point do we say, "Ahhh, What the hell!!! Let's just add them into the hobby. They are what they are." As younger, newer collectors come into the hobby, this may become easier... Folks like Lloyd & I have a tough time stepping over that line... There will always be a little "burn" for us, remembering how many people have been fooled and swindled... Collectors who were "new" 5 years ago, will have a tough time with it.... But, the collectors who have entered into the hobby where these marbles have been around so much longer than they have, can look at them and say, "Wow, these are really neat... And SOOO CHEAP!!! I like 'em!!!" .......... They haven't been burned... They haven't seen burn..... I think what's most important is... Don't allow them to aquire a false history... Take them for what they are (Modern American Folk Art??? LOL) The day we walk into a museum at Gettysburg and see red & blue marbles with white stars on them, in a glass case.... That's a very sad day.....

Roger, were you just kidding? OR, did you mean these "Jawbreakers"? These things are so cool!! And, freakin' HUGE!!! About 25 years ago, friend of mine went into a local weekly antique show on a misty drizzly day and bought a nice box of marbles!! The one he thought was best was this huge cool crockery / china!!! On the way out he was showing them to another friend in the parking lot... When they picked it up to look at it.... It was sticky.... Yeah.... You guessed it!!! I think they were colored a little better back then......

WOW!! The ones in the original picture have way too much white... BUT, I've seen 'em like that... As Brian says, they sure do look dead on... So, we let that slide... Then, the idea of having a barrel actually makes sense... Could they have been experimental, or rejects?? A large group that all have the same oddity about them.... It's explainable... Then.... When they are all shown together!! What a HUGE revelation!!! I still find it a little funny that they are working SO hard to copy Bennies!!! But then, listen to me!! I said myself that I went "Back to Basic" to get a design right... This is looking like a real progression and the lines of that yellow china show that they are seriously working on "Getting it DOWN." Scary stuff.... But, having it so well documented really makes a lot of difference... Good Work, Steph!!

I'd agree that's new... It doesn't look like it was created to be a big money maker... But, the lines are pretty good! It's odd though... One line looks a little wiggly (The bottom single) The rest look precise... The base color looks too yellow, too...

To answer that question.... I have seen at least one clay marble that looked to be "Homegrown." It had been in a collection for so long, it was way too old to be considered a "reproduction / fake." But, it certainly wasn't in the same family as other known "produced" marbles, either. On another note.... I remember reading a kid's adventure book that told the story of a couple of kids that explored caves in the rocks, at the seashore... In one of the caves, they found some piles of clay marbles... They spent the day playing and seeing how far they could throw the marbles into the ocean... Upon arriving home, one of them found one last marble in his pocket, that he had missed... For some reason, they broke it open (maybe he dropped it?? I don't remember...) And, there was a diamond inside!!! The punch line of the story was... Pirates had disguised the gems as "stones" or marbles and hidden them in the caves...... Should we be doing X-rays on our clays??? LOL

Yup, I'm with Brian... I'd never doubt those top ones... The only one I'd question would be the last picture, on the right.... I wish I had more info on this.... But... Many years ago (Probably.... Mid-1970's??) I went into the Bennington Pottery studio store... See the site for Bennington Potters This business is not the "Bennington" that the marbles were named for... Though, like the old Pottery, it is in Bennington, VT.... AND, they tip a hat to the old pottery... Soooo, back when I was there... They had some "bins" of marbles, in 3-4 different sizes, that looked similar to the old Bennies.... Why Didn't I Buy One??? I don't know... All I can guess is... I was with several family members. I was old enough to have to pay for my own stuff, but I wasn't making a lot of money at the time... I know, on the same trip, I bought some awesome beaded bags at an antique shop... I'm thinkin', I just didn't have enough money to spare on them and... Having a ton of originals, I figured I didn't need them....... DUH!!!!!!! Just ONE would have been so good to have!!! It just didn't occur to me at the time. I don't really remember what they looked like... But, I do remember there was one size that was VERY large... I think the originals went up to about 1½"? ..... Maybe 1¾"?? .... These new ones were probably 2" or 2+"... So, if anyone has any in that size, I'd bet, that's what they are... I assume, they didn't make them for very long... And, the ones that were made have been assimilated into the general "Bennington Population." So, back to that last one on the right.... The way the colors are splotched on just looks very different than any old ones I've ever seen.... It takes my memory back to that day and makes me wonder if it looks familiar? Or, am I just guessing? :Sad_headshake_tweetz: