# Marbles 101 Pix



## Clam (Jan 28, 2011)

Figured I would put some pixs on here of the different kinds of marbles we run into while digging. These are common clay marbles that come in many different colors.


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## Clam (Jan 28, 2011)

Here are some limestone marbles, these can be quite beautiful if you take the time to polish them. Limestone marbles are the oldest type of marble associated with privy digging and I find them regularly in 18th century pits. Many limestone marbles were recovered at Fort Orange New York ca.1645-1664


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## Clam (Jan 28, 2011)

Here is a pic after I polished them.....


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## Clam (Jan 28, 2011)

Here are 2 bulleye carnelians and 1 banded carnelian also called agates these date back to the middle ages with the first factory showing up on tax records from Germany in 1411...


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## Clam (Jan 28, 2011)

Here are some blue benningtons.....These are thought to been first produced in the 1870's in Germany


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## Clam (Jan 28, 2011)

Some brown bennys......


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## Clam (Jan 28, 2011)

These are fancy blue bennys....


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## Clam (Jan 28, 2011)

And some fancy browns....


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## Clam (Jan 28, 2011)

White Bennys......


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## LC (Jan 28, 2011)

Nice marbles , thanks for posting them , I always enjoy seeing them . I still have my marble bag and marbles that I had as a kid as to what seems a very long time ago as I think about it ...................


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## Clam (Jan 28, 2011)

These are jaspers or varigated clay marbles, white & reddish brown jaspers are as early as the 1770's. Jaspers made with blue or green could not have been made until after 1858 because thats when the technique for making blue & green clays were developed.


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## Clam (Jan 28, 2011)

These are lined crockery marbles and they date to the 1860's. these were made by rolling "blank" crockery marbles across canvas soaked with blue or green dyes.


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## Clam (Jan 28, 2011)

These are mica marbles a form of handmade glass marble....


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## Clam (Jan 28, 2011)

Here are a variety of German handmade marbles. The first patent for making glass marbles was applied for in Germany in 1848....


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## Clam (Jan 28, 2011)

And last but not least here are a bunch of machine made marbles.....The first patented design of a automatic marble making machine was in 1902 by M.F Christensen


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## Clam (Jan 28, 2011)

I almost forgot these and thats strange because these are my favorite. Here are some painted china marbles. The first of these appeared around 1780 in southern Germany and most of those were unglazed. Painted chinas did not appear in America until the early 1840's. These marbles are valued anywhere from $5 to $11,500


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## JOETHECROW (Jan 29, 2011)

> ORIGINAL:  Clam
> 
> Here is a pic after I polished them.....


 

 Did you use a rock polisher Clam? Those look great. Thanks for posting your marbles. Very nice.


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## Clam (Jan 29, 2011)

I just used a dremel tool and some polishing compound...


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## LC (Jan 29, 2011)

Super nice collection of swirls ! I like most of the others as well , but the swirls always seem to catch my eye more for some reason .


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## idigjars (Jan 29, 2011)

Nice collection.  Thank you for sharing it with us.  Paul


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## Staunton Dan (Jan 29, 2011)

You can tell who digs privys here and who doesn't as most of the early marbles are found when privy digging. When I dig a privy I also like to sift which tends to catch most of the smalls like marbles. When I dig in a dump there is not enough time to sift and the smalls are found by the hit and miss process. If I dig one or two marbles in a day while digging in a dump, I feel fortunate. No telling how many marbles and other smalls are lost this way but bottles are the primary focus when dump digging. Thanks for the pics. Love the swirls and Chinas. Actually, I love 'em all.


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## Clam (Jan 29, 2011)

Thanks Dan.    Actually some of the later dumps 1930's to 1960's can have some of the more valuable machine made marbles in them tanks and submarines start at $1500 and can go way up there. The mid 20th century was the hayday for machine made marbles.


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## Digswithstick (Jan 30, 2011)

Thanks Clam ,very nice !!!! WARNING all , marble collecting is as addicting as bottle collecting ,just send them to me and i will isolate them ,and you can come visit them anytime 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 These are Alley Agate Company  on frogs ,they can cause hoarding among other afflictions


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## Digswithstick (Jan 31, 2011)

Your bottles could end up like this if you are not carefull


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## coboltmoon (Jan 31, 2011)

Thanks Clam for showing the early marbles.  Digswithstick I love the flower frog idea.


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## Digswithstick (Jan 31, 2011)

I collect the frogs as well ,the green depression glass are my favorites


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## cobaltbot (Jan 31, 2011)

> Actually some of the later dumps 1930's to 1960's can have some of the more valuable machine made marbles in them tanks and submarines start at $1500 and can go way up there.


 
 Hey Greg, great marble pics!  Curious, what do the above look like?


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## Clam (Feb 1, 2011)

Hey Steve I am going to drop a few of the more valuable glass marbles on here so you can get a idea that some of the marbles that come out of the first foot or so of the ground can be worth more that a whole privy full of bottles....


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## Clam (Feb 1, 2011)

More submarines


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## Clam (Feb 1, 2011)

More


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## Clam (Feb 1, 2011)

More


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## Clam (Feb 1, 2011)

More


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## Clam (Feb 1, 2011)

More


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## Clam (Feb 1, 2011)

More


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## Clam (Feb 1, 2011)

More....Yes thats right it really does say $6000 for a machine made marble !!!!!!


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## Clam (Feb 1, 2011)

More


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## Clam (Feb 1, 2011)

More


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## cobaltbot (Feb 2, 2011)

Thanks Greg, that'll keep me looking for the smalls!


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## glass man (Feb 2, 2011)

> ORIGINAL:  Clam
> 
> Here are a variety of German handmade marbles. The first patent for making glass marbles was applied for in Germany in 1848....


 

 LOVE THE GREENISH ONE...


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## glass man (Feb 2, 2011)

LOVE THE GREENISH ONE...!JAMIE


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## Road Dog (Feb 3, 2011)

This is a Clown that is well over 2" dia.  Sold for over 14,000 clams.


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## Clam (Feb 4, 2011)

WOW !!!!! I need to find me one of them puppies !!! I don't have many big marbles but I just dug a 2"3/8 latticinio


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