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A Good Month For Fake China Floggers


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Do enlighten me as to when you think the majority of these were done.

Depends on which ones your referring to...

Nadine has been making ceramic marbles~~~ Signed and Dated~~~ since 1995...

The so-called "Atlanta" marbles came from a construction site during the creation of the Atlanta Olympics.... The games were in 1996... It took a while for the "Story" of an old Atlanta marble factory, to evolve...

These are industrial ceramic "mill balls" that entered onto the market simply dyed solid bright colors...

Then, designs were added... The first I remember seeing, were white stenciled stars of base color, with the dye added around them... That's about the time they became "civil war era."

Since then, the fantasy has grown into every possible stretch of the imagination (These were used as ammo when the Rebel soldiers ran out of bullets..... etc., etc.)

The timing of these marbles hitting the market was perfect!!! The first ebay sale happened in 1995... By the time ebay was creating a world wide "hum," these marbles were looking for a wider circle of suckers.... Home computers was the ideal venue!!!

There is an element about them that is very cool... IF you can understand and get past the intent of their creation....

We've had several "invasions" of marbles that were marketed to be more than they actually are...

Initially, the revelation creates fear and horror!!! Then, things settle down a little and most people become older and wiser.... Once the full cat is out of the bag and we have an idea of what is available and what the quantity is, they seem to be grudgingly accepted into the hobby...

The California Sulphides created a terrible rift in the marble world.... First, they sold for HUGE amounts... Then, it was pretty well established that they were fakes (Lloyd, are there still people who believe???) The prices dropped to NOTHING!!! Now, they are actually such a part of marble collecting history, they have aquired a value of their own.... And, due to the quantity, it's not a bad price tag!!

(Unless you were one of the people who paid the ORIGINAL price!!! ;) )

Soooo, let's get back to these chinas....

Unlike the California Sulphides, that had one origin and a limited number... There is probably an endless supply of Industrial mill balls and Sharpie pens....

I've seen some that were kinda cool... There may come a day when the better ones rise to the top and become collectible.... But, that's really a stretch....

Of course, I remember saying, "There may come a day when Catseyes become collectible... But, that's really a stretch!!"

The question becomes... Do we want to encourage it??

We can't stop it.... It's getting to the point where the suckers are fewer and fewer... At what point do we say, "Ahhh, What the hell!!! Let's just add them into the hobby. They are what they are."

As younger, newer collectors come into the hobby, this may become easier...

Folks like Lloyd & I have a tough time stepping over that line... There will always be a little "burn" for us, remembering how many people have been fooled and swindled... Collectors who were "new" 5 years ago, will have a tough time with it.... But, the collectors who have entered into the hobby where these marbles have been around so much longer than they have, can look at them and say, "Wow, these are really neat... And SOOO CHEAP!!! I like 'em!!!" .......... They haven't been burned... They haven't seen burn.....

I think what's most important is... Don't allow them to aquire a false history... Take them for what they are (Modern American Folk Art??? LOL)

The day we walk into a museum at Gettysburg and see red & blue marbles with white stars on them, in a glass case.... That's a very sad day.....

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I know of a factory site in Akron where industrial mill balls were manufactured. Could even be the actual source of the Atlanta Porcelains. There are literally 100,000's of these things at one location. All you need is a truck, 5-gallon buckets, sharpies, or a kiln, and you would have a small fortune.

If anyone would like to get in on this deal, just let me know.......I'm kidding of course.

To someone else though, this is the equivalent to a winning lottery ticket.

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Thanks Sue for your treatise on the fake chinas. All I was trying to say, is that some of them were pretty good artwork. Another thought is with thousands upon thousands that were produced. It seems they would have had to hire hundreds of china painters with worlds of paint pens to accomplish this. One plant with a paint bucket would be lost. Thanks again

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All I was trying to say, is that some of them were pretty good artwork.

I agree... There are some that are pretty nice... Like I said above, those will be the ones that rise to be collectible... More for what they look like, than what they are...

These are only factory made by the thousands as plain white ceramic balls (for industrial use)

The "painting" is done by private "entrepreneurs," who sell them as antique.

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