Hello and welcome to the another review from the Pop Quiz Series! Today we are going review how to identify marbles using properties other than seams which is where a lot of new collectors tend to get hung up. Have fun and good luck!
Hello and welcome to the another review from the Pop Quiz Series! Today we are going review how to identify one of my favorite types of marbles. Have fun and good luck!
What are metallic and what are Abalone swirl marbles?
Abalone, as seen in the marble above from my collection, is the result of environmental factors reacting with the marble glass. It’s not an as made property. There are as made metallic marbles, but those will tend to have metallic streaks or swirls that stand alone as their own swirl color rather than striations of metal atop of and following an existing base color as seen here.
For a better explanation of this process we can look to antique glass experts and their understanding of how glass reacts to the elements when buried for a long time.
Per this thread (https://www.allaboutmarbles.com/viewtopic.php?t=13203&start=25) on the All About Marbles forum—
The reason they look like Abalone is because of "Patination". If you see this on marbles, it's because they were buried a long time ago and dug. It takes certain chemicals in the glass and the right kind of earth to do this. It basically breaks down the chemicals in the glass and causes it to corrode.
Staining or patination is highly variable and unpredictable. Although glass is a highly resistant substance, it is still subject to slow corrosion by water and environmental chemicals. This is a function of the specific composition of the glass as it relates to the chemistry of the soil and water that the glass resides in, as influenced by amount of exposure or contact time (Munsey 1970).
Patination is more common in [glass] bottles with a high soda (and low lime) content. Water will gradually dissolve or leach out the soda component of the glass, leaving a coating of sodium carbonate and eventually silica behind. This process continues year after year, resulting in a buildup of very thin layers, like the rings of a tree (though without the dating opportunity that tree rings allow).
Particularly susceptible bottles or those that have been in contact with water or soil for a very long time (e.g., a 2000-year-old Roman bottle) will exhibit pitting, which is the extreme corrosion of the glass surface. (See image #3 - a 1900-year-old Roman bottle with surface pitting.) Eventually glass will corrode completely away in any environment given enough time (Kendrick 1963; Elliott & Gould 1988)
A ‘Superman’ is one of the most sought after type of marbles by antique and vintage machine made collectors. There are several marbles with the title ‘Superman’ with the most desired being made by Peltier. Some collectors argue that the only marble with the title of ‘Superman’ is the Peltier NLR variety. In the simplest terms one of the key ways to identify ‘Superman’ marbles is through their color scheme which will always be blue, red, and yellow. This is to say that all ‘Superman’ marbles will have blue, red, and yellow, BUT not all marbles with blue, red, and yellow are ‘Superman’ marbles.
A ‘Superman’ is one of the most sought after type of marbles by antique and vintage machine made collectors. There are several marbles with the title ‘Superman’ with the most desired being made by Peltier. Some collectors argue that the only marble with the title of ‘Superman’ is the Peltier NLR variety. In the simplest terms one of the key ways to identify ‘Superman’ marbles is through their color scheme which will always be blue, red, and yellow. This is to say that all ‘Superman’ marbles will have blue, red, and yellow, BUT not all marbles with blue, red, and yellow are ‘Superman’ marbles.
Hello and welcome to the another review from the Pop Quiz Series! Today we are going review how to differentiate between slag marbles and transparent swirls. Have fun and good luck!
Hello and welcome to the another review from the Pop Quiz Series! Today we are going review how examine swirl patterns. Have fun and good luck!
Hello and welcome to the another review from the Pop Quiz Series! Today we are going review how examine the various properties that can help with IDs. Have fun and good luck!
Hello and welcome to the another review from the Pop Quiz Series! Today we are going review the basics of seam recognition and how to apply that into to marble identification. Have fun and good luck!
Hello and welcome to the another review from the Pop Quiz Series! Today we are going examine marbles that are very popular with collectors and the various properties that define them. Have fun and good luck!
Hello and welcome to the another review from the Pop Quiz Series! Today we are going examine a few small lots of marbles. Have fun and good luck!
Hello and welcome to a review of Pop Quiz Series! There has been a lot of questions about oxblood on the sub lately so I figured it would be a good time to review this content from our Pop Quiz Series. This is a review of Pop Quiz #4. Have fun and good luck!