JVVmarbles

I had my doubts on these marbles as well.

Yes, I have seen 2 confetti type marbles with 2 pontils being sold on eBay.co.uk years ago, and the seller bought them Shangai on a market.

Thanks a lot for your elaborate description!

Yes, I think so too, the ribbon goes only 3/4th of the marble.

This one is an antique for sure, made around 1860 judging by the pontil mark. Can you tell me how they made this? I have no idea! and I'd love to see pics of the one you made!

Has anyone ever seen a single ribbon marble like this? instead of the standard single ribbon, this one has a clear core and the ribbon twist like a tunnel around that core over 10 times. The marble is quite large, just over 1-1/4" and has a highly facetted pontil. Here are some pics:

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

I use 6 different types of Swiflex diamond polishing pads and a LOT of water. With deep chips it is hard to keep the marble round, so sometimes scars remain where the chips were.

Thanks! This one took about 4 hours. You don't have the be strong at all, the trick is not too push too hard on the polishing pad and just let the pad do it's work.

My first marble book was by Grist...what sad news! R.I.P.

I bought a large 1-5/16" badly damaged onionskin on eBay last week, it looked beyond rescue, but with a lot of work (handpolishing with diamond pads) I was able to save it, it was impossible to take out all the deep chips, or it would go out of round. The pontils are still intact. Here are 2 pics what it looked like before and 1 pic after I polished it. It's a really beautiful marble now! I'm looking forward to hearing your reactions!

Yes, my guess is also that's from China and made around 1920-1930, that's why the pontil is differet than on German marbles.

Well... this is the best marble I've ever seen: A huge antique 2-1/8" green based mist Lutz. I've never seen so much Lutz in a marble.

Bill, I'd love to see more rare marbles from your amazing collection!

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet! What a marble! Thanks for sharing! The only thing what I have in my collection that comes a little close to this one is this 2-1/4" single pontil cloud with floating blizzard mica:

Here's a video of the best antique lutz marble I've ever seen! A huge 2-1/8" green based mist Lutz. I've never seen an antique marble that had so much Lutz!

Welcome Ron! Good to see another European collector here! Best regards, Jeroen

The cloud he bought from Marble Alan is actually a very famous marble! It's on the cover of Everett Grist's Big Book of Marbles! See: It's just above the leather marble bag.

No, I never a reply from him and never got my refund...I filed a claim through eBay but they wanted me to return the marble to him to get a refund and because I live outside the USA it's impossible for me to have it send with online tracking and signature confirmation, both are required by pay-pal/ebay.

I'm almost sure this one is modern. Here's a pic of an antique cased blizzard mica. This one has a highly facetted pontil.

Thanks for all your reactions! Roman glass can certainly be very sophisticated. I've seen some amazing glasswork in museums. I already got an offer by an interested buyer. I might be interested to sell it for a good price. You can send me a pm if you are interested. Trades are also welcome.

I wanted to show you all my oldest glass marble, a Roman marble dating from the 2nd-3rd century AD. Found in Holland at a Roman site. The marble is 1-5/16" in size and has an aquamarine base. On the surface is a 'flower' made with white and dark blue glass paste. It's not perfectly round, but it can still roll. Does any of you have more information about this marble? Maybe you've seen one before? I'd love to know more about it! And a question to the marble makers among you...how was it made? Here are some pics (I've made it wet wih water): and 3 pics of how it actually looks, with a lot irridization from being in the ground so long:

Thanks for sharing your story, Cees! Cees and I are the most fanatic marble collectors in Holland. And yes, it's great to know I'm not the only marble idiot in Holland!!!

The story of how I started collecting antique marbles is rather tragic...when I was a little boy my older nephew Pieter already collected marbles (he was 5 years older), he even had some handmade German swirls (I didn't know then they were antique and neither did my nephew). One day he gave me one of those and I was so happy with it. It was the most beautiful marble ever. I didn't play with it and kept it in a box. When I grew older I forgot about the marble but when my nephew was only 18 years old he committed suicide...I was only 13 then and this was a huge shock to me. So the marble he gave me so many years ago became very special to me. It was like a relic I could remember him by. Then a few years later I saw a bag of those marbles in the window of an antique store, there was even a marble with a silver bird inside which I had never seen before. So I bought them all because they reminded me of my nephew. So my collection slowly started. Every time a saw a similar marble at a flea market I bought it. Then I found the marble book by Everett Grist in a bookstore and then I suddenly realised these marbles were old (and valuable!) and now I knew what other kind of marbles I had to look for. So the reason I collect marbles is very personal...I feel like I'm completing the collection my nephew started and never got to finish...I wish he could see my collection now!

Thanks for the info. I still have not heard from him...