Vaseline Glass Marbles
One of the unexpected "Wow!" factors in marble collecting is discovering that some vintage marbles glow yellow-green under ultraviolet light. These marbles owe their fluorescence to the presence of uranium glass, which is glass mixed with uranium oxide.
In the 1920s this glass was called vaseline glass because it resembled the color of the popular petroleum jelly sold at the time. Sometimes you can spot these marbles without using a black light, such as the two vaseline slags in the bottom of the group shown here. They have the pale yellowish-green color of vaseline glass which is a strong indicator that these marbles will fluoresce.
On the other hand, the Christsensen Agate "bloodie" marble in the center gives no indication whether it will glow under black light. Some do and some don't. In this case, it does, but not nearly so brightly as the surrounding marbles. In fact it is being overwhelmed by them, particularly the vibrant glow of the Akro Agate Co. lemonade oxblood marble at 11'o clock. Notice that its cousin at the top, the milky white oxblood, does not glow at all.
While this neat effect has limited value to identification purposes for collectors, it is still fun. Next time you score a big batch of new marbles, try to guess which ones will fluoresce and put them in a pile next to the rest. Then flip on the black light and be surprised.
No Comments »How Agate Marbles are Dyed
I was thumbing through some 1944 issues of The Desert Magazine when I stumbled upon descriptions of how agate was dyed red, blue, or green in Idar, Germany. Presumably this month-long process was likely the same one used to dye the prized agate marbles that were hand-cut in Idar-Oberstein.
I am posting these recipes here for novelty purposes, under the assumption that nobody is going to go hand-cut an agate marble and dye it using these recipes. If you do, please be very careful. And be sure to send me a photo of your finished product when you're done.
Cherry Wood Chinese Checkers Boards Made in USA
I have finally found a source for affordable, high quality wooden Chinese checkers boards to display my marbles on. They are made of cherry wood in Vermont by Maple Landmark, Inc.
They make two different boards. The two-person board, pictured on the right holding some of my Peltier marbles, has 81 holes and is 12" long by 7 ½ wide and ¾ deep. It weighs 1 lb 1oz and comes with 20 marbles.
Their standard board (left) has 121 holes and is 11.5" wide and ¾" deep. It weighs 2 lbs 3 oz and comes with 60 marbles.
The finish, while not as dark as I would prefer, is smooth and natural. The lacquer allows the seated marbles to spin easily so you can show their best face.
The spacing and depth of the holes are are designed for 5/8" marbles. You might squeeze a couple of larger ones in but even the 5/8" ones can be a bit tricky to pick out. Be careful to avoid bumps when moving them on the board!
I bought the two-person board for only $19 + S&H from Green Goods, which has the lowest price I could find. They also sell the larger standard board for just $28 + S&H.
No Comments »Original Boxes of German Handmade Marbles
Once again Morphy's Auction offers an opportunity to both drool over and bid on some rare marble items. This time in their February 2010 online catalog they have an assortment of original German handmade marbles boxes, including a salesman's sample case.
It's a wonder these antique marbles survived, much less their boxes! Now I can really imagine what the children of the late 19th/early 20th century saw when they peeked over the counter at the boxes of marbles.
No Comments »Dirty Jobs Marbles Episode Creating JABO Eagles
Dirty Jobs finally aired the marbles episode on December 8th. It was originally filmed in November 2008 at the JABO factory.
Mike Rowe helped the crew create a very vibrant run of marbles called "Eagles". They are loaded with aventurine and have been for sale on eBay since 2008, though I expect the value will increase now that the show has aired. Right now it looks like you can still grab some for around $5 each.
If you missed this fantastic little bit of marble history, keep an eye out for a repeat on Tuesday, December 15th. Here is a sneak peak from the show:
