PittsburghMarbles Posted February 20, 2022 Report Share Posted February 20, 2022 Why is it that people put marbles in jars and sell them as such? Nearly every weekend I go out I find tons of awesome marbles in jars for next to nothing. How do people at the antique stores not know what they are selling? Guess it’s because I live near marble country as to why I find such good stuff. Like today, I found nearly 400 bucks of marbles for 65 bucks. I’m only 32 but perhaps marbles in jars is historically how people stored them, not sure. I love vintage and antique marbles for their beauty/history and also because unlike most things, you have to have an extensive knowledge base to know what they are and what they are worth. It’s not like an antique bottle that has embossing and is easily searchable on google. You rarely if ever find good deals on antique bottles or anything that has clearly defined makers marks. But vintage and antique marbles, it’s absolutely nuts the deals you can get; unlike with nearly every other kinda antique or vintage thing out there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berryb Posted February 20, 2022 Report Share Posted February 20, 2022 You must go to better shops than I do. Usually when I see a jar of mibs in a shop it's one or two usedta be nice ones and a bunch of slingshot ammo. Thanks Bruce 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PittsburghMarbles Posted February 20, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2022 10 minutes ago, Berryb said: You must go to better shops than I do. Usually when I see a jar of mibs in a shop it's one or two usedta be nice ones and a bunch of slingshot ammo. Thanks Bruce Where do you live? Everywhere I go, be it around where I live, OH, WV, Upstate NY, Tidewater VA, eastern KY I find great marbles without fail nearly every weekend. However when I got around Columbus OH for whatever reason or pennsboro, Clarksburg, or any historic marble mfg town I find nothing or ridiculously overpriced jars of crap. Have never looked for marbles outside of the Midwest, so not sure what jars of marbles go for in TX, Massachusetts, CA, AR, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad G. Posted February 20, 2022 Report Share Posted February 20, 2022 Well, 25-30 years ago the "wild" pickins were pretty good around here in WA. state. Now almost all jars are of solid cat eyes, & anything else is all beat up or inferior in some aspect. I live about as far away (stateside) from marble production as you can get, not counting the Vitro Anacortes site up north of me. Get em while ya can, the well will run dry there some day also !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fire1981 Posted February 20, 2022 Report Share Posted February 20, 2022 Sounds like the Marble Mother Lode to me. Post some pics. This should be fun for all of us to see what you have. I’m sure you have some great examples of HTF marbles. Can’t wait 🔥 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PittsburghMarbles Posted February 20, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2022 3 hours ago, Fire1981 said: Sounds like the Marble Mother Lode to me. Post some pics. This should be fun for all of us to see what you have. I’m sure you have some great examples of HTF marbles. Can’t wait 🔥 We’ll here’s some of the mibs I found today (haven’t sifted through the rest) which I usually find such good stuff at least once a month or every weekend sometimes. But I drive hundreds of miles a weekend in search of marbles. Today I started at 6am and found these at 4pm, so it takes lots of searching but it’s the thrill of the hunt. I mean 95 % of the stuff I see is just junk or damaged but it’s one good jar a week or so that keeps me going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Posted February 20, 2022 Report Share Posted February 20, 2022 I usually don't have much trouble finding jars around the Tri-State area (Southeast Minnesota, Northern Iowa, Western Wisconsin). Average prices I see for quart size jars range from $20-$45. But as stated by Bruce and Chad, alot of the time it's mostly commons mixed with various cat's eyes or damaged marbles. Sometimes I get lucky and find some uncommon or HTF marbles though, but only occasionally. And yes, I can agree with your comment about the price tag some folks place on jars. I've bought them as low as $12 (found an Akro Sparkler in one), or as high as $65, which I saw priced on a small jar of 11 shooters! I think we are planning a trip to one of the local antique malls today, so I'll see if I can post some of what I find 😊👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Posted February 20, 2022 Report Share Posted February 20, 2022 Some of what I saw today...a jar of cat's eyes, the infamous little jar of 11 shooters (still there 🤪), and 3 pieces of Akroware. All crazy prices. Besides these, there were quart jars priced at $50 (and that was 20% off!) I didn't walk away, I ran. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad G. Posted February 20, 2022 Report Share Posted February 20, 2022 16 minutes ago, William said: Some of what I saw today...a jar of cat's eyes, the infamous little jar of 11 shooters (still there 🤪), and 3 pieces of Akroware. All crazy prices. Besides these, there were quart jars priced at $50 (and that was 20% off!) I didn't walk away, I ran. Quick !! Where's the nearest exit ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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