4 Heaton?

[Melissa]

[Ric]

The top ones look the most Heaton to me. Lower left might be Ravenswood and the lower right might be Alley, but I think some of these could go a few directions.

[Melissa]

37 minutes ago, Ric said:

The top ones look the most Heaton to me. Lower left might be Ravenswood and the lower right might be Alley, but I think some of these could go a few directions.

Gosh I wish I knew how you can tell the difference.  Thank you!

[Tommy]

I'm just a swirl head apprentice, but it's the flow of the glass and the slight differences in color .......FWIW.  mho

[Melissa]

7 hours ago, Tommy said:

I'm just a swirl head apprentice, but it's the flow of the glass and the slight differences in color .......FWIW.  mho

That helps. Thank you 

[Ric]

@Melissa You know, Melissa, there is only a reasonable chance that I got all of these IDs correct - definitely a better chance on some than others. Most are not very good examples of a particular company. At some point, with such simple swirls, there just isn't much to go on and it really comes down to just a gut feeling that comes with many years of effort and experience with them.

Identifying WVS like these is not something you're going to get any good at without a pretty near ridiculous obsession with them. And it's always important to remember that these are random swirls. Surely, there are some traits (size/patterns/colors/combos/glass/etc.) that you are more likely to find from one company than another but there are also many "outliers" from every company, and some of these outliers could easily be placed with multiple companies. At that point, unless there is something particularly interesting about the marble (maybe you just like it for some reason) it's better to just give those types away to kids, throw them in a jar, or incorporate them into your landscaping or something, because they really are just cheap children's toys. There are millions of them around and they have no collectible value. I mean, they aren't very good as ID references, they have near zero monetary value, and there is really nothing about them to admire except their intrinsic value toys, which is mostly dependent on a child's imagination and desire to play with them.

I mean really, the top two marbles in your post are nominal examples of Heaton structure, IMO. But those bottom two - why in the world would you keep those or even care who made them?

The only way these types of super simple swirls have any collectible value is if they are in original packaging. Then, at least, you have a solid source of reference you can use for identification purposes, some historical value (dug marbles might qualify here too) and, depending on the package's rarity/desirability, perhaps some monetary value as well. And that is why I have collected bags of WVSs for many years - I like boxes a lot too, but they are easily "contaminated" so you have to exercise considerably more caution with them.

I am now retired, so my time does not have the value it once did. But I can guarantee that the time and effort I spent to write this reply is worth at least a thousand times the value of the marbles in your original post and I really hope some good comes from it. So here's to hoping that, in some way, it helps you address your SMD. 🙂

[Ric]

23 hours ago, Melissa said:

Gosh I wish I knew how you can tell the difference.  Thank you!

See that little tight swirl of color on the "top" of that upper left marble? That is a weak example of a Heaton "ear", IMO. And then, the extension that sort of spirals to the bottom of the marble? And that sort of long slit of color on the underside? Those are both Heaton traits too, IMO. Although, if the green striping glass was bubbly, and the little slit of color was absent, I probably would have gone with Cairo.

Putting these sorts of explanations into written words that make sense and have some value is a lot harder than you might think - there are lots of "ifs", "ands", "ors" and "buts" that have to be taken into consideration when trying to identify WVSs. And I can guarantee that is one reason Ron never wrote a book on WV swirl identification - to do it well would be a daunting task with very little reward, and he understood that. And it's also why he went so out of his way to try to educate people one on one whenever someone who was interested sought him out at shows to ask questions. He sure taught me everything I ever could have ever wanted to know. I often come across WVSs that are a challenge to ID and my first thought is still always, "I'll have to show it to Ron and see what he thinks". And I feel very fortunate that we were such good friends that I miss him beyond words. 😢

[Tommy]

3 hours ago, Ric said:

See that little tight swirl of color on the "top" of that upper left marble? That is a weak example of a Heaton "ear", IMO. And then, the extension that sort of spirals to the bottom of the marble? And that sort of long slit of color on the underside? Those are both Heaton traits too, IMO. Although, if the green striping glass was bubbly, and the little slit of color was absent, I probably would have gone with Cairo.

Putting these sorts of explanations into written words that make sense and have some value is a lot harder than you might think - there are lots of "ifs", "ands", "ors" and "buts" that have to be taken into consideration when trying to identify WVSs. And I can guarantee that is one reason Ron never wrote a book on WV swirl identification - to do it well would be a daunting task with very little reward, and he understood that. And it's also why he went so out of his way to try to educate people one on one whenever someone who was interested sought him out at shows to ask questions. He sure taught me everything I ever could have ever wanted to know. I often come across WVSs that are a challenge to ID and my first thought is still always, "I'll have to show it to Ron and see what he thinks". And I feel very fortunate that we were such good friends that I miss him beyond words. 😢

Your knowledge in priceless, I appreciate the time you take to educate here ..I will be forever grateful for the knowledge you have given 

Thank you Ric for your love of marbles ☝️👏

[Steph]

^^ What Tommy said!

[Melissa]

I really appreciate you sharing this information @Ric.  I know a lot of the swirls I ask for ID I have no interest in but I just like to learn what they are so I can be as brilliant as you are someday, maybe, hopefully.   Knowledge is important to me. 

[Melissa]

I appreciate so much the knowledge of all the marble veterans like yourself. It’s such an honor to learn from you, truly. 

[Ric]

Just now, Melissa said:

I really appreciate you sharing this information @Ric.  I know a lot of the swirls I ask for ID I have no interest in but I just like to learn what they are so I can be as brilliant as you are someday, maybe, hopefully.   Knowledge is important to me. 

I can tell you like marbles, Melissa, and that you like learning about them too - it was obvious to me from the start. And I will try to do a better job of explaining what I am thinking, at least occasionally. 😉

And I appreciate a thank you now and then too but please go easy with the accolades, they are wholly unwarranted and the attention embarrasses me. Maybe I am weird that way but I have spent most of my life trying to do things as best I can without being noticed. 

When it comes right down to it, I am just a guy who really likes marbles, which makes me no different than many others here. And I promise you, there are many other collectors around who make me look like a rookie.

🙂

[Melissa]

@Ric didn’t mean to embarrass you and I apologize for that. Not my intent.

[cheese]

You did do well choosing Heaton for the 4, regardless of if they are or not. They all could be. Like Ric said, they don't show undeniable strong traits to pinpoint them. I also try to ID even the plain ones just for the mental workout or practice. I think stumpers and simple ones are good for honing your ID skills, so although they have no monetary value really, they do serve a purpose in this manner.  The Vitro superiors and alley calligraphies are easy to ID but a subtle swirl like these presents quite the challenge.