Melissa Posted March 4, 2023 Report Share Posted March 4, 2023 I know this is an old post but do moonies and flinties always have that fire when backlit? I have a couple I suspected to be flinties and moonies with the slits at both polls but they do not have any fire when backlit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph Posted March 4, 2023 Report Share Posted March 4, 2023 Good morning! Would be a nice discussion! I split your question off from the old topic and moved it over here to the main chat area for more eyes to see. Let 'er rip! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph Posted March 4, 2023 Report Share Posted March 4, 2023 I take it this is a specifically Akro question. @Melissa, maybe post a couple of pics of the ones with the slits but no glow? My general impression is that as the years went on the fisheyes got smaller and smaller, the marbles became more opaque, and the fire got less and less. However, I don't know if I ever got a firm answer on whether ALL the flintie colors had the fire once upon a time. And there's another name at play. Akro sold some solid color marbles as "Fire Opals". One might hope those all had fire, but did they? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Posted March 4, 2023 Report Share Posted March 4, 2023 This is one of the best recent discussions about these types so I thought a link was appropriate . . . . . . lots of photos and discussion. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Posted March 4, 2023 Report Share Posted March 4, 2023 Oops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tankgrrl29 Posted March 4, 2023 Report Share Posted March 4, 2023 From the web archive of MarbleAlan.com http://web.archive.org/web/20030627125058/http://marblealan.com/akro/ FLINT MOONIES AND FIRE OPALS Akro Agate Flint Moonies (referred to by many collectors simply as "moonies") are translucent white marbles composed of opalescent glass, which will glow orangish when held to a light. Flinties are also opalescent, but have colored base glass (brown, yellow, green, red, and blue, in increasing order of rarity); "Fire Opal" is Akro's name to refer to their red Flinties. Akro Agate's opalescent marbles can be distinguished by their small clear "eye," a small circular area of clear glass surrounded by the remaining cloudy matrix. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tankgrrl29 Posted March 4, 2023 Report Share Posted March 4, 2023 i didn't see any info on Alan's Akro page about non-opalescent solid colored marbles. so maybe the intent was that they would all have 'fire' but some just don't light up as much? (speculating here, and thinking back to when i played with glass... i had rods that looked clear, but which turned 'cloudy' with heat. the transformation was not always consistent...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Posted March 4, 2023 Report Share Posted March 4, 2023 1 hour ago, tankgrrl29 said: From the web archive of MarbleAlan.com http://web.archive.org/web/20030627125058/http://marblealan.com/akro/ Just in case you aren't aware, Craig S. now maintains a copy of Alan's ID guide: https://buymarbles.com/marblealanhome.html Might be easier to consult than the archive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Posted March 4, 2023 Report Share Posted March 4, 2023 My bet is that some of the marbles Akro packaged as Flinties did not show the opalescent fire. I say this because I have a few marbles that show the "fish eye" and other traits that point to Akro and they do not glow. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa Posted March 4, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2023 Thanks @Steph I’ll try and snap some pics of my suspected flinties and moonies without fire tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa Posted March 5, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2023 The three in back have fire. The small three in front do not. Are they all flinties and moonies? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph Posted March 5, 2023 Report Share Posted March 5, 2023 3 hours ago, Melissa said: The three in back have fire. The small three in front do not. Are they all flinties and moonies? I'm gonna say a solid yes for all but the biggest one in back. I would want to see some more structure on the biggest. I don't recognize that beautiful gold tone. Could be my fault. Maybe someone else will recognize it right away. As for the three on front, not having fire might disappoint and might thus detract from monetary value, but I would certainly keep them together as Akros Flinties and Moonies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Posted March 5, 2023 Report Share Posted March 5, 2023 16 minutes ago, Steph said: I'm gonna say a solid yes for all but the biggest one in back. I would want to see some more structure on the biggest. I don't recognize that beautiful gold tone. Could be my fault. Maybe someone else will recognize it right away. As for the three on front, not having fire might disappoint and might thus detract from monetary value, but I would certainly keep them together as Akros Flinties and Moonies. I agree, although I think that back left one may just be one of the early styles that has a very large and sort of diffuse eye on each pole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa Posted March 5, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2023 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa Posted March 5, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2023 In this pic you can see the structure. There is an opening all the way through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Posted March 5, 2023 Report Share Posted March 5, 2023 That's what I suspected. And look at how different its color looks depending on the background. It's always important to make sure that your photo actually matches the marble or attempts at ID can really be stymied. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa Posted March 5, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2023 It’s a very neat marble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Posted March 5, 2023 Report Share Posted March 5, 2023 29 minutes ago, Melissa said: It’s a very neat marble. I agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph Posted March 5, 2023 Report Share Posted March 5, 2023 seeing the eyes now. The earliest were the most nearly transparent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Posted March 5, 2023 Report Share Posted March 5, 2023 I have this type too - interesting how it looks like a clear tunnel through the marble, and it's not so uncommon in my experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tankgrrl29 Posted March 5, 2023 Report Share Posted March 5, 2023 On 3/4/2023 at 1:43 PM, Ric said: Just in case you aren't aware, Craig S. now maintains a copy of Alan's ID guide: https://buymarbles.com/marblealanhome.html thanks, Ric! if i did know that, i'd forgotten nice resolution to the moonie/flintie conversation!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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