Al Oregon

Vacor "slags"

My guess is that it may have been a jobber type bag. I'd normally guess Berry Pink or Pressman but Pressman usually put his name on the header somewhere. Obviously Peltier is a possibility as they used the 'Marine Crystals' name. Of course, MK did also along with 'Marine Puries' but the MK bags are all polybags. Here are some pics of the ones I have that are similar.

I don't have any pictures of a 16 vane that Patry had. Here is a picture of her 8 vane crossthrus from 2002 - no idea on size - probably mostly in 5/8 range.

Out of the little over 200 different "Japan" bags that I have, 95% are cat's-eye bags. But there are some of the different patch or odd 'bands' on some marbles. Here are a few 'other than cat's-eye' Japan bags.

Some bags of mine - first group are Wales bags from Japan - two different header types

I do get my 'kicks' collecting bags but have not seen that one - Al

Thanks for sharing the short history lesson.

Nice case!

Yup, but they don't ship to the US

Hey great that you had a picture! But, not the top of the header.... Oh well, let's do some detective work - not many clues but here is a Sharpshooter bag from Australia. The bag and style of header (including base paper color) look similar. The ones that I have and have seen are with Vacors in them and all (8) look the style and header. Here's a picture of front and back of one. All have the bar code and 'Made in Mexico' on the back side of tgh header. Too bad we can't see if there is anything on that back side that is showing. However, Sharpshooter may have also bought marbles from China and packaged them this way but I have never seen such a package.

Remember though, you want to do justice for the lady and a $100 marble on eBay, with two bidders who really want it, might go up substantially in final price. Great bunch of marbles! PS - on the boxes, check out Dynalab's website and search Square Petri Dish. You should find those boxes. Sterilin out of UK makes them but they don't appear to have any direct distributors in the US.

The Atmospheres were done by Vacor in a similar size but they were packaged 3 to a nylon net bag with header. I also don't recall seeing any spiral types in the Atmospheres. I would lean to China also.

I'll start with Japanese style cat's-eyes - the 6 vane types. The common one has 6 vanes with 3 pairs of the same color. For example,in the picture of two marbles below, the vanes in the top one are 2 red on the left, 2 green on the top and 2 yellow on the lower right. The lower marbles has 2 white vanes on the upper right, 2 green on the bottom and 2 red on the left. The other pic with a bunch of marbles shows a Japanese 6 vane style but these are called "3 way cross-throughs" as the vanes are not in pairs but "crossthrough" the marble, at the center, so it looks like the vanes are alternating - like red, blue, white, red, blue white. These 3 way cross throughs are harder to find, especially ones without white vanes. The other cross-through type that is more common than the 3-way but still harder to find then the common ones are the "white cross-throughs". In these, only the two white vanes are opposite each other (cross through). The other two pairs of different colors are still next to each other one either side of the white corss through. In the pic, there are 2 dark blue vanes on the bottom, 2 light blue on the top and the white crosses through in ihe middle.

Do you have a picture of the label/header that was on the bag?

Great pics!

Neat, thanks for sharing that one!

The flames were the peewee run but my point was that many collectors would buy those as old - forget the value or # of colors, it's still a marble that looks like it is old (to 90% of the collectors). Forget that the experts know all of the color combos of Alley, CA and Champion flames (really?), 95% of collectors don't. Sure, we can talk about learning and being careful and getting advice and I agree with all those posts. I thought the question that Edna asked about whether there are Jabos that look like old marbles was the reason for my post. I don't have those marbles to post side by side - maybe someone will come out with a book (or even a website) that does that. Here are some more Jabo pics that, with an individual marble, would make collectors think of an old marble.

There are some out there - maybe not in large quantities. You know that. Maybe experienced collectors who have seen all the Jabos can tell that they are Jabos but 90% of the collectors can't - even ones that collect the 'real' types of marbles. I have seen some that mimic the red, white & blue Alleys (or Champion) and other WV swirls (colors & patterns). Here are a few pics where the colors are close - would fool many a collector. These are Kevins from eBay.

Not a really easy topic although parts of it seem to be. I agree that the in-room trading is an important part of the overall "show". It'd be interesting to see if some shows advertise the "in-room" part to the public or just advertise the show itself. Actually, the least favorite part, to me, is the actual show. While there are a few table people that have not been a part of the in-room trading, usually it is just the same people that you have seen the last couple of days. From a buying standpoint, there is not a lot of new stuff to see. From a selling standpoint, there does not seem to be a lot of the general public coming to the actual shows. Maybe that is just out west but...? One question, which appears to be important in my eyes, is how to make sure the people putting on the show get enough income to at least break even. Sure, they can charge for the tables to cover the room and other actual show costs but what about other expenses incurred - like a hospitality room(s) and any other activities? Should the table people shoulder all of the costs? The people that come to the in-room trading and don't get a table at the show, do not pay anything towards the overall cost (unless they donate). If those people get a room and come to sell at the in-room trading (and I am talking about the regulars, not a guy coming off the street with a jar full), they should pay something. They are benefitting from the show but pay nothing (unless they pay admission to the show itself - which is usually minimal). I think it is nice to have an appraisal table for people bringing in marbles (gotta figure out to man it so everyone gets an even shot at buying); an actual game of marbles at the show; an exhibit at the show (some shows have one); silent auction at the show to raise funds for the people putting the show on (or for a specific purpose); someone showing how to make marbles; maybe a "lecture" for beginning collectors on various topics about collecting. Of course, that all takes volunteer time to do. Just my thoughts...

Let's try and look at this from a new collector that is thinking about collecting marbles. And, let's say they are looking to collect machine-made marbles - older ones like Peltier, Christensen and up to WV swirls. I remember when I started collecting about 15 years ago. My wife and I sat down with Landon Daniel. We knew nothing about marbles. He shows us a variety of his marbles - high end stuff. Then he shows us a few of the newer marbles, like the Mega (Vacor) Serpent, and a couple of contemporary or re-worked or cullet-made marbles that looked like the older machine mades. He explained the difference but, to my eye, they looked the same. While I decided to collect marbles, I also decided to collect lower value ones so I could learn about marbles. I collected packaging to see what companies made what marbles. Of course, I learned along the way to recognize most of the "replica" marbles. This took time and going to shows, etc. If I started collectin marbles now and sat down with a knowledgable collector who would also show me the replicas that are out there, from Vacors to Scott's to Wilganowski to some Jabos and some recent Sammy's, I would have a hard time wanting to collect marbles because of ll the one that may be 'replicas'. New collectors are probably not going to take the time to learn the fine details to tell the difference and when they get burned, they will walk away. Beside the electronic age taking away kids playing marbles (and subsequently being a collector when they get older), these 'replica' marbles, as they proliferate, will be a detriment to the continued growth of the hobby. Just my thoughts trying to look at it from a new collector viewpoint.

Yup, it was a fun time. Eddie & Madeline's first time at the Crab Pot - ordered, 'Crab, Crab & Crab' (3 different types). It's always fun to see friends periodically and even some nice marbles and a bag or two, for me.

Good list - thanks for letting us know about it.

Steph - were you 'modularforms' on one of the boards? Here was a picture posted back in December 2007.

Nice pic!

Here is a picture that Galen (I think) used several years ago to describe the diaper fold.