New Finds, Surprising Cool

[glangley]

I know that I should post some pictures, then ask, but what the hell. I just got home after being bounced around in a car for 9 hours so I'll ask now and post pic's later. Some of you will know what I'm talking about. I found an mug with some plain looking marbles in it this weekend. I bought the entire mug with the marbles for 3 bucks. What was inside looked plain until I poured out a few into my hand.

There are white Benningtons, some have spots of brown and blue, but most of them are entirely white. There is also a entirely black Bennington, which is nearly 3/4trs in size. I haven't pulled out the hole gauge template thingy yet, but just by eyeballing them, they're all between 5/8ths and 3/4trs in size with the majority of them being 5/8ths-ish.

There are also opaque white, and opaque black double pontil 5/8ths-ish mibs, and some that look like moss agates without the patch with pontils. Some of the mossy looking ones have single pontils on one end, and what appears to be melted or faceted or both on the other. Some of these also come screaming alive when backlit, and emit a fiery opalish glow. One of the milky white mossy looking ones is entirely different.

This one mib is nearly the same size as the rest, between 5/8ths and 3/4trs an inch, but when backlit or with close inspection of the eye you can see bands in the white. the bands are simply white and translucent milky mossy glass and are near the outside surface. The bands bend from pontil to pontil in a swirl like fashion. This one marble looks very much like a small pickling onion, and it looks good enough to eat.

So, if any of you have read through this rambling and have an idea on what I may have here, please let me know. I'll post some pictures later today after I get some sleep and get the kids off to their first day back to school. Thank you very much in advance and God Bless.

Gary

[glangley]

Black opaque double pontils.

[glangley]

White mossy/milky and one of the white opaques. Pontils on these were hard to get a good pic of, but they are there. Some only have one, others look like they have been ground.

[Steph]

Hi Gary.

Hmmmm .... is 5/8" a ballot marble size?

Are the bands on the black ones silver? ??? (or is that just an interesting reflection? or ???)

[glangley]

Ballot mibs! now that would be sweet! lol Especially in these troubling times, too funny. One of the black one's has a metallic appearing band, but the one on the right is a crease from? Did they use opaque's for the ballot mibs? Could they have also used the white milky ones? Where were they made and by whom? Timeframe? Or could you point me to some interesting reading on the subject. Very cool.

[Steph]

I'm going to bump this and move it to the general chat area.

[glangley]

Been looking at those black ones, with the crease and the line. I am thinking that if they were created together, same way, then maybe the line on one is just tool marks, and perhaps the glass was a bit hotter when the one with the crease was made, does that make sense? lol I've been so busy I haven't dug up any information on ballot marbles yet, but I will for sure. Thanks Steph!!

[catfish]

I agree, ballot marbles. Now you just need to get an antique ballot box for them to display in.

[Poplarhead]

I have found the ballot marbles wiht opaque and cloudy/clear white marbles in same batch before.

Don

[richsantaclaus]

What a neat find!

[lstmmrbls]

They do come in a variety. There are some in this group that even have faint color bands in the white. Peace,Galen

[glangley]

Awesome, and that's what I was thinking, maybe I'll have to get a ballot box now. lol They came with some benningtons, mostly white, some with brown, blue spots where they touched other mibs, or something when they were glazed. They are all small like the glass ones, did they ever use white benningtons for ballot mibs too?? I have never seen pic's of bennies like these, maybe they are not? But they sure have the tell tale signs. Any thoughts?

[lstmmrbls]

Yes they used white Benningtons, white chinas even limestone. There are also several types of black ballot box marbles including glass, black bennington, and black on redware type clay.