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Yesterdays Marblemail


moremarbles4me

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I'll try to tell the story without writing a novel. Several years ago, on ebay a seller from N.J. was offering a group of 5 unusual Peltiers, which is what I collect, if I remember it correctly, I didn't get the first group. Then they sold another group, which I won. Then they put on another group! Which I also won.I politely asked them how many groups they were going to be selling and since I was the high bidder on 2 of the groups, "how much if I bought the rest?" They sent me a list of the remaining Peltiers and a price. It wasn't cheap, in fact, there was no way I could afford it even though it was reasonable. So I turned them over to a well known collector friend of mine who lives in Eastern PA (H.D.) and he drove over and purchased them.

The seller explained that they were all in one large jar out of an estate. There was an unusual version of the Liberty, a version of the Christmas Tree, a white base with purple and yellow (lemon and plum), a clear mustard and ketchup (and Mayo) and a white base with orange, lemon, lime stripes.....THE CITRUS. There were not an even number of the different types, very few lemon and plum and liberty, so the sets of 5 were sold very quickly. The largest quantity was of the Citrus, which was o.k. because they were my favorite, I had not seen them before and have yet to see one that did not originate from this group. I believe them to be experimental or a very short run!

We had to put a set price on the marbles in order to make a profit and keep the few we wanted. It was my job to sell them. I still have some Citrus for sale and a few of the clear k&m. I guess that's it in a large nutshell!

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Smitty

I got mine from my ole buddy Stormin (Norman) Brown 2 years ago out here on the left coast........he had at least 8 sets I think, maybe more...........I'm not sure if he got in on the orginal buy from the folks in NJ or got them from you but whatever I'm glad he did...........I know he had a few complete sets left in Vegas this year............if anyone is interested I can hook them up.............

citrusset.jpg

Ps

I was never quite sure the K&M was a fit with the rest of the examples but if they were all found together I guess they are.........

Thanks for the info

Steve

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I've received a few emails asking prices/values. I don't have any more sets of 5 for sale. The Citrus are for sale at $150 + shipping. I don't like to mess too much with shipping things, that is why I don't list them on ebay. It's much more fun to sell them at shows. There are 2 subtypes of Citrus. One type has a pastel green while the other has a translucent or relish type green. Smitty

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hello,

here is the information I got from my friend Norm Brown regarding the story behind the Citrus set. It brings a little more light to the discovery and the naming of the set, but still doesn't give info on their production timetable. I believe they were late NLR, but only as a speculation. Here is Norm's letter:

"Prior to 1999, a New Jersey couple who are marble collectors purchased a jar of mixed marbles

at a garage sale in Illinois. In this jar were several types of Peltier marbles including the five types listed below which comprise what is now known as the 'Citrus Set'.

1999: Two sets were sold through Danny Turner's Running Rabbit Auction.

a. Catalog #39, Item #257.

b. Catalog #41, Item #306.

1999-2000: Three more sets were sold on ebay. I was the eventual recipient of set #2 and having obtained direct contact with the sellers, purchased additional groups over the next few months. When the additional marbles were recieved, I personally evaluated the marbles and named the two types which had no obvious identity. The Yellow and purple I named Lemon-plum, (to echo the well known Lemon-Lime), and the marbles containing ribbons of yellow, orange, and green I named Citrus because it uniquely contained those colours. After showing and selling three sets in Seattle, the group quickly became known as the 'Citrus Set'. The five marbles comprising the set: Christmas Tree, Liberty, Lemon-Plum, Citrus, (these four have a translucsent base), and a Ketchup & Mustard with a transparent base. Several of the Christmas Trees and Liberties have orange as well as red ribbons.

I bought a total of 10 sets plus a few extra examples of the most numerous, Citrus, Christmas Tree, and K&M. At this time, there were no more complete sets available from the seller. A few marbles of this type have turned up in the wild and of course, the original seller could have sold more simultaneously, so I conclude that some twenty sets are in existance. One set was available at the 2001 Amana show, and others on the West Coast while top price for a set that I know of was $2000.00.

Norm Brown January, 2006

P.S.

If Smitty can associate dates with his MarbleConnection contribution, a clearer picture might be obtained."

Norm has not been signed up to this board, but he is familiar with it, because I have been sending him the links of the threads. That is why he wanted me to post this info.

Sami

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