Furnace Marbles

[psia-antique]

Champion Furnace Marbles...most fractured -yes....Wissmach-yes...one day -really? ....rare...really? Everett Grist told me when I was at his house one day that he had two 55 gallon drums (if 9/16 then there would be over 70,000 per drum) of them and his friend he got them from had a "barn full" of those drums...clear base...usually.

[lstmmrbls]

Don't believe every marble story you hear, I agree there are tens of thousands of Champion marbles that some would confuse as the marbles from this particular run but the individual color types are very well documented from this run. And nice round unfractured examples of several of the colors are fairly rare. The run is very well documented. Of course a good close up picture would be worth a thousand words.

[Steph]

Steph, at jabo during the special runs the tank washes were done to remove one type of base glass that was in the tank so another type could be started. Certain things were sometimes added during some of these washes which resulted in some very interesting mibs(PLEASE STOP IT) (LOL)

What did I do?

lol

I haven't even read all the way through this thread. Guess I better do that!

[stacyw]

Here we go again Steph!

I fear that Galen may have confused me with you (and if so I should be flattered).

Stacy aka "not Stephanie"

[marbleus1]

Leroy I stand by my original post, the following also lifted from the marblealan site.

Quote: "Based on my own observations of these marbles, I have identified at least 14 different color combinations. It is worth describing each of these in ascending order of relative rarity.

Style One is about the common, and is always the least fractured. In fact, shining a light through more than 100 I found none that contained annealing fractures. Unfortunately, it also has the least eye appeal. This style has a clear base almost completely filled with dull yellow and white swirls. Most are around 5/8".

Style Two is probably the second most common style. After inspecting a sample of these I found that exactly 30% were undamaged while the remainder had at least one sizeable fracture. This style has a clear base with bright yellow swirls with red, and sometimes greenish, highlights. Most are around 19/32".

Style Three is the third most common from what I've observed. Many have annealing fractures. This style has a clear base with red and yellow swirls with purple highlights. Most are around 5/8".

Style Four is the fourth most common from my observations and most have fractures. This style has a clear base with greenish yellow swirls with brown highlights. This style often exhibits flames and most are around 5/8".

Style Five is rare. It contains yellow, pink, and purple swirls in a clear base. Most are around 5/8" and these are tough to find without fractures.

Style Six is fairly rare. It contains yellowish orange swirls in a transparent red base. Much of the swirling is inside the marble, not on the surface. Most are around 5/8".

Style Seven is rare. It contains yellowish orange swirls in a transparent dark amber base. The swirls are usually inside the marble. Most are around 17/32" and typically seem to be fractured.

Style Eight is rare. It contains orange swirls with purple and yellow highlights in a transparent red base. Most are around 5/8".

Style Nine is somewhat rare and almost impossible to find without fractures. In fact, out of about a dozen I found all had serious fractures. It contains yellow, brownish purple, and light blue swirls in a clear base. The swirls almost completely fill the marble and often form complex flame patterns. Most are around 5/8".

Style Ten is very rare. It contains yellowish green, orange, red, and purple swirls in a transparent red base. Most are around 5/8".

Style Eleven is rare. It contains blended yellow and orange swirls in a dark transparent base. Most are around 5/8".

Style Twelve is fairly rare. It contains salmon swirls in a dark transparent red base. Most are around 1/2".

Style Thirteen is very rare and is similar to Style Eleven. It contains yellow and pink swirls with green and pale blue highlights in a transparent red base. Most are around 5/8".

Style Fourteen is very rare. It contains green, brown, red, and purple swirls in a clear base. The one example I've seen measures 19/32"

Style Fifteen is fairly rare. It contains yellow and red swirls in a clear base, and differs from Style Two in that the red is more defined, there is more clear glass, and there is less of an amber-tinge to the yellow. The one example I've seen measures 19/32"

Style Sixteen is very rare. It contains yellow swirls with red and green highlights in a transparent amber base. This type, which usually measures around 19/32", typically forms frames and is rarely seen without fractures.

Style Seventeen is uncommon and seems to found in 5/8"-21/32" sizes. It does no seem to fracture as easily as many others. The base on this type is transparent cherry red, with bright yellow swirls that blend to orange where it meets the red base."

end quote:

David

[lstmmrbls]

STOP IT!!!!! was to anyone making the tank wash marbles (That resemble Vintage marbles). Looks like I confused everyone:)

[sissydear]

The story goes that Champion Agate's glass furnaces were scraped, and the resulting residue was made into these marbles. Unfortunately, as noted, the glass tends to fracture, and examples with no fractures are rare."

David , Is this the statement that you are referring to? This is the myth. See Ron Shepherds and David McCullough's statements in Al's posts. That and what I posted about the myth is the truth. Please don't help to proliferate this myth. It was Wissmach glass, not furnace scrapings that went into those marbles.

[lstmmrbls]

I have not heard the term scraping used in a few years. Although I have heard the furnace glass was sometimes scraped off the sides of the tank, so there is a reason the first term(Champion furnace scraping marbles) was originally used.

[marbleus1]

Its not a myth and Rons and Davids statement do not say so. The Wissmach glass is the base glass (The only used in all the washes???). The color contained is the scrap out of the tanks.

These glasses were not compatable, so the fractures. In this thread nor anywhere else have I read anything that states differant.

Rarity?? How many?? Were others made during this time period that were not tank wash????

Champion "Furnace Scraping" marbles, are tank wash marbles.

I be done on this.

David