Have these been polished?

[PittsburghMarbles]

I just got these off of eBay and I am not sure if they have been polished in the modern era. I really hope they haven’t. But lots of them have ground pontils. Not sure if they would have sometimes done that back when they were made. 

[PittsburghMarbles]

[Ric]

It's hard for me to tell from the pics. If the focus on the marble was as sharp as your fingerprints it would be easier. One thing you want to look for is "sharp", not melted, edges on any indentations. Opening or clear areas on the poles can also be indicators but I think some of these types may show a bit of that anyways. You can also look for white chalky finishing compound stuck in any divots, although that's not so difficult to remove either.

Having said that, the little crevice just left of the pontil in your first photo looks a little suspect to me, and so does the opening at the pole. But you will definitely want to get some more opinions since German hand-mades are not my strong suit.

[Alan]

The photos are not focused enough, close enough or lit enough to judge.

[Fire1981]

If you drag your thumbnail across the pontils and they’re rough then it/they aren’t polished. 🔥

RAR

[akroorka]

3 hours ago, PittsburghMarbles said:

I just got these off of eBay and I am not sure if they have been polished in the modern era. I really hope they haven’t. But lots of them have ground pontils. Not sure if they would have sometimes done that back when they were made. 

 

These would take some closer images of the pontils for a final evaluation from any one on this board.
I will stick my neck out and call them “buffed”—not quite polished but worked on.
Marble—On!!
 

[PittsburghMarbles]

Here’s some more photos, hopefully better than the first. All of them still have remnants of the pontil but the tops of each pontil are ground. I know ground pontils are a thing they did historically but not sure if they would look like the ones I have here. If you click on the photos the quality is much better. 

[Alan]

Not enough resolution, focus or closeness to the marble(s).

[I'llhavethat1]

From what I can make out looks like a bunch of earlier handmades with faceted pontil.  What makes you think polished?  A lot of the marbles from Solitaire boards stayed in pretty good shape because they lived on a board (or in the box) rather than on a playground in a kids marble bag

[PittsburghMarbles]

^
Just thought that sense many have what appears to be ground down pontils that someone may have polished them and they are all in immaculate condition. Since I mostly collect machine mades, I guess I don’t know really what faceted pontil means. Were they ground after finishing them? 

[Fire1981]

Yes🔥

RAR

[Fire1981]

Rough sloppy pontils got ground off🔥

RAR

[Chad G.]

Most old German marbles that have been polished were polished for a reason (Damage) usually polished to the point they no longer exhibit any pontil. However a good buffing w/o polishing can go around the pontils w/o removing them. I'd say the presence of facets ( & or ground or unfinished pontils) and melted pigtails is a good sign as to being the original surface. No way of telling from your pix but from what I can see they have their original surface. Sorry no good pictures of facets !!

pigtail

Unfinished

[I'llhavethat1]

Faceted pontil

[PittsburghMarbles]

Thanks everyone for all the help. 

[Jeff54]

Here is something to consider regarding time lines of cane-cut handmade and hand gathered marbles with their original boards and boxes.

This is Danny Turners observations which he published on his web site prior to selling his business:

Danny Turner, Running Rabit Auctions: (This web site no longer exists and would not have a secure (https) or valid certificate today) http://www.runningrabbit.com/ Danny has shown to be the most knowledgeable and accurate person in the time of his Business ventures and studies..

   "We have had the good fortune of seeing several hundred solitaire sets with what appeared to be their original marbles. Just from casual observation these sets can be divided into three periods.

   The following dates are my best educated guess based on the style and patina of the boards, associated inscribed dates, and the original containing box when it exists.

    The first period would be from 1850 to 1880. These boards are usually handsomely crafted out of beautifully
 patinaed mahogany, and we have seen several with inscribed dates as early as 1850.

   The second period would be from 1880 to 1920. These boards are somewhat
 less well crafted, and are made of oak, mahogany and
 pine. Sometimes these solitaire sets were boxed in well made cardboard boxes with colorful paper labels.

   The third period would be from 1920 to 1940. These boards are usually crudely crafted out of pine and were sold in cardboard boxes.

 These three divisions
 are not always clear and there are some crossover characteristics between the periods.
 
    The marbles are distinctly different in the three periods. Marbles associated with the first period
 almost always have a ground, faceted pontil and are generally well made with fine detail. Marble types
found on these earliest boards include Onionskins, Onionskins with mica, Onionskins with suspended mica; many varieties of swirls including latticinio, divided ribbon, single ribbon, and solid cores; green, cobalt blue, cyan blue, and clear micas; and ground pontil- hand gathered marbles referred to by collectors as transitions. {Today known as Griener, Previously thought to be Leighton} The one thing all these marbles have in common is their ground, faceted pontil.”


After I read this, I took a look at my regular German
hand-made marbles, and quickly discovered that the
types which are ground are far superior in design and
construction.

I can quickly pick out a few of yours, yet you do need better photos, but some have designs that, from design alone, I expect are ground pontal from the early period.

Regardless, unless you make better photos there's no way to see if yours were polished or not.