cheese

yep, the name is actually St. Mary's Ghost, as in the ghost of St. Mary, but often shortened to just ghost.

They are old WV marbles. Looks Ravenswood to me.

1-4 Alleys, #5=Ravenswood.

My opinion is the first two are a bit busier than I would expect for Cairo, plus other things that put Ravenswood in mind for me. The last one I agree looks very Cairo in the base and pattern but the squared off cut and better quality red has me skeptical.

It does mimic an Alley but I also think JABO. Pre investor runs.

Champion for that.

Okay, I didn't catch the humor and there was a reply not long ago that went that direction so I took that reply that way. I won't bore you with personal details but I may take a break from the internet for a bit, I'm beginning to get defensive and just tired. I am glad to help when I can, forgive me for being edgy lately. The stressful situation I'm in will get better. I am normally a calm person with not much to say. I was trying to spend more time on the marble groups to help get things off my mind but it may be working against me.

If that's what you came away with from that article, I suggest going back and re-reading it. I explicitly state that there are many factors and size is just one of many. I specifically stated that patterns, glass, and other tools to use as "hints" to come up with the maker. I wrote that article because members asked me to explain how size makes a difference. Twisting my words to say I claim to be able to pinpoint every marble in the country solely by size is inaccurate to say the very least, in fact it is an intentional gross misrepresentation of what I said. I also said that size was of virtually no help at all IDing marbles other than swirls. How you think that all means I claim to be able to tell every marble under the sun by size escapes me. I've spent a good deal of time humoring you and helping you see what's involved with sorting marbles. I have a lot going on in life with two handicapped family members I take care of full time plus 3 businesses, so my time helping with marbles is limited. If this game is what I have to play to help you then it's just not worth it. More important things...

I agree, with the top left I lean Alley.

St. Mary's Alley on the Left. Not sure on the right, is it clear base? What size? Is that contamination or metallic in the last pic of it?

When Jessica went into full blown Kokomo hunt mode and then released the pics, facebook went nuts for Kokomos. The good thing about all that is that it brought out more awareness and information about what Kokomos really look like. Lots of dug examples and pieces that other collectors had hidden away from the internet are now shown. Shortly after, the sooty bubbles trait got dismissed from being a sure fire Koko sign. I think Kokomo IDs are being honed and zeroed in these days. Lots of focus on the type and people learning about them now. I love Marbles... here we are collecting things that were made 50-100 years ago and we are still learning and uncovering new information all the time. When there is nothing left to learn it might get old but I don't see that happening for a long time.

I would have them with my Pelts.

Sure they did. Ohio River Valley sand being probably first and foremost. Houze made batch glass and sold it to the different companies. Vitrolite too. Some cullet WAS batch glass, just made elsewhere.

How would it know which is most significant? It might see ribbons and a blowhole and say Pelt because that's the very logical conclusion given those two traits, but it might show a road and tunnel effect in at the seams and seem insignificant, but CACs can have blowholes too and Pelts don't do road and tunnel effects at the seam. So which would it choose? No rule is ever 100%, I can't say a pelt will never do a road and tunnel. The road and tunnel effect can vary widely to sometimes just a hint of it wanting to try to make that pattern, will parameters pick that up and if so, how will they discern that from the german type that is also similar and can give chevrons at the seam also? I use apps to identify mushrooms and they are wrong quite often. Marbles are harder than mushrooms to ID. Give it a try. You will need some very knowledgeable people to spend lots and lots of time and tens of thousands of marbles at the least to study and input from.

I see folds. Take a couple colors of playdough and roll out two long thin strips like spaghetti noodles, then wad them up into a ball and roll it smooth. You will see lots of places where the colors "end" because the strip changed direction and then got rolled smooth. So it doesn't really end, it just dove in or got underneath the other color. Same happens with swirls. On your last pic that may be a cut at 1 or 2:00 and in a little. Where the darker blue hooks around the lighter blue a little and ends in a straight line.

Lol I agree! And I'm not trying to sound like this place is the end-all/know-all with that previous statement, but it's true. Where else can you ask such a broad knowledge base about marbles than here or AAM? Nowhere. This was the best place for the best answer and out the window it went because it wasn't the answer they wanted to hear. Money, money, money. Bait the hook and try to take someone else's I guess. No thanks. Did Chocomibs change his name again?

There are no seams or cut lines presented in the two photos of yours. I would want to see more views of each and sizes before making an ID on them. Also, not every marble on the Joemarbles site is 100% infallibly identified. It's a very useful tool but as with pretty much every publication about marbles, it's not without mistakes. Just wanted to point that out since in another post you mentioned one being 100% solid on ID. The site is probably more than 99% correct though. Just be aware that there are a few. Many have tried to make WV swirls follow a flow chart and come out the end with a correct ID. It's not that simple. Spend some time with someone who knows in person and you'll see why. You need to consider way more than a couple "criterion". Size, bubbles, cold rolls, orange peel, ribbon width uniformity, tunnelling, metallic, UV response, striations, cut marks, machinery marks, tracers, opalescence, ribbon behavior, blowholes, mottling, iridescence, frit, aventurine, shapes, skips, opacity, fractures, what color it is that fractured even, and on and on are all things to be considered when making an ID. Remember the Plinko machine from The Price is Right? Imagine a big wide one with 30 or 40 chips falling through it. That's what it can sometimes be like when trying to determine the maker of a swirl. And other times it's obvious right off the bat.

I would agree with later Alley on that. Not because of the blue but because of some tendencies of the glass that I can see Alley in. But that second photo from the Joemarbles site is identical to some that Ravenswood made. In pattern, size, and glass.

When they said some people will want it to be fake, the cat was already out of the bag. It started with wanting proof or references as to why we said fake. Who else to ask but here? That's like asking NASA a space travel question and then doubting their answer and asking for references lol. Then the statement about some of us wanting it to be fake reveals that any validating answer would be accepted and any naysayer would be dismissed as invalid.

That's Bill McCaleb in the middle. So Ric would be on the right. Thanks, I can put a face to the name I've known so many years.

Maybe Ravenswood with that curling strandy ribbon on that bottom left? For another possibility lol.

It's a long thread at AAM, here is a link if you are on there. There are several pages to it. https://www.allaboutmarbles.com/viewtopic.php?p=329646#p329646

You did do well choosing Heaton for the 4, regardless of if they are or not. They all could be. Like Ric said, they don't show undeniable strong traits to pinpoint them. I also try to ID even the plain ones just for the mental workout or practice. I think stumpers and simple ones are good for honing your ID skills, so although they have no monetary value really, they do serve a purpose in this manner. The Vitro superiors and alley calligraphies are easy to ID but a subtle swirl like these presents quite the challenge.

I'm not sure either but I also had MK hit me right off the bat.

Ravenswood. Have you seen the thread on how to tell them apart (Ravenswood Red Raven and Heaton Red Rose)?