Vintage Christensen Agate Co. Swirl Marble Pairing (2)
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:29157141 | Modified Item: No |
| Time Period: Pre-1970 | Country/Region of Manufacture: United States |
| Type: Machine Made | Style: Swirl |
| Brand: Christensen Agate | UPC: Does not apply |
ChristensenAgate Co. swirl marble pairing (2) -- sizes: 0.74" (47/64")& 0.75" (3/4") for the pairing; the blue& red example presents mint in hand & under magnification as well(grade: A); the yellow & orange swirl has a clean surface overall, just afew micro pins & some surface dulling is present (grade: A-). Lovely CACpairing offered up this week; Note: one is most certainly a CAC (the blue &red example with hints of brown in truly exceptional condition); the ye...llow& orange example is one I have seen many times & have discussed withother collectors because it is a bit of a puzzle. Everyone thinks theyellow & orange example has more features attributable to a CAC than a WV-- one side is more yellow, one has more orange (bias) & the ribbonthickness is consistent with CAC; the only thing that violates that CAC rule isthat the orange is subject to bleed through at the demarcation line of theyellow. It is not as sharp as you'd expect for a Chrissie. Although this lasttrait is good for the majority of IDs of CAC swirls, some do show this type of bleed through, but it is often more typical ofWV; either way, it is a rare marble.
As an eBay seller, the goal is to providecomprehensive and clear descriptions and photographs of all the marbles sold. Isell all types of vintage marbles, mostly produced before 1950 and I cater toboth experienced and novice collectors alike; designing auctions so that thereis something here for every collector. If you've purchased swilterding marblesbefore, I'd like to thank you again for your patronage. This business model is builton honesty, accuracy, promptness and professionalism. Comments on grading and identification ofmarbles (for machine made and transitionals;note, I am more forgiving with handmades): For the most part, if I statewithout qualification the identification of a marble and its manufacturer, youcan be sure I know this from experience. From time to time, I might makean improper identification; there is a lot going on with marbles and no oneperson can know it all. Couple this fact with misinformation found in thevarious opinions circulating in different marble groups across the county, andsometimes I find might have learned something the wrong way. If I haveuncertainty as to the determination I am making, I will tell you. As for grading, I've given up pretending to know what peoplereally think is a near mint marble, and those that aren't. I've come toconclude that the only way to rate the condition of a marble is to describe it accurately. While Iappreciate that there are a number of different kinds of grading scales in use, I have developed something that works well for this particular site. So here ismy scale: I look at the marble with the unaided eye and grade it, then I hit aloop on it...first 4x power, then up to 20x power or higher for questionablefeatures, and issues that might involve polishing (I do not sell polishedmarbles, in most cases, but they are creeping into collections at an increasingrate, so I remain cautious). I describe all as-mades and let you decidewhat amount you'll tolerate, because very often you have to with some types ofmarbles (note: I suspect that many of these were not chosen for shooting inmarble games, hence many of these survived the wages of children playing withthem). Grade: A: Mint, uncirculated. The best thereis. Only one or two very minor flaws that are only easily detected undermagnification, and certainly mint 'in-hand.' There can only be minoras-mades, and only localized light surface scuffing in isolated areas of themarble. In a word, perfect, and not very common; most circulated marblesnever get there, and even those that appear perfectly mint in hand, probablyall have some flaws under close examination. Most of the marbles for sale hereon this site won't be perfect and the grading is designed to give only thecleanest marbles this rating. When you see this grade, you can be assured youare bidding on a marble as good as can be found. A-: In hand perfect, feel is perfect, and may contain a few of thefollowing: some minimal scuffing, light scratches and short annealingfractures, a few minor tiny microscopic pin pricks or small fleas; most ofthese issues are not obviously evident without careful, close, examination. Ifeel most of our A- marbles would still be considered mint by many collectionsand will look great in collections. B+: Inhand very nice, smooth glass with a few slight rough spots, some scuffing andlight scratching, no deep areas of glass loss; these always have much or mostof the surface area of the marble without imperfections -- that is, some viewsare error free, or nearly so. In truth, many of a collector's prized marblesare in this condition and I often notice that many of my B+ marbles rate in thelow 9's for those that use a numeric scale. Generally A through B+ grades arerespectable marbles in great condition, and the flaws are only a minor issue ortwo with these marbles. B:Still a nice marble in places, but a number of easier to find fleas and microscopicpin pricks, some light hits, scuffing, surface with some abrasions and wear, nomajor areas of glass loss, in hand without magnification the marble looks verygood but flaws can be seen. There must be unblemished areas in parts ofthe surface of the marble, and glass loss not densely distributed throughout. B-: Amarble in this category is starting to accumulate problems, so more of theabove B marble, most notably, there is no view of the marble that could beconsidered the 'public side' of the marble...the one view that is free of mostimperfections at higher magnification. All types of as-mades (chiefly bubble pops and cold rolls and seamroughness) are mentioned, but those are not typically included in thegrade...partly because some types of marbles are prone to these. In some cases, where the marble is perfect, bubble pops and cold rolls of substantial sizewill downgrade the marble to A-. All B marbles are not used heavily andwill always present with nice areas of the marble. C: I will only post these for rare and desirable marbles to allowthose who can't afford the mint examples a chance of owning an example, and inthose cases, I will tell exactly the horrors the marble contains. Sometimes tohave a representative, we have to accept them as they are. These ofcourse, have many fleas, scuffing, hits, sparkles, moons, fractures, explosions, battle scars and all manner of other possible kinds of damage. Condition definitions: Dimples are slight, smooth concavities on the surface of themarble. Sometimes called shrink spot, result from uneven cooling of the moltenglass that shrinks to some extent. These are valuable traits of older glass generally, and will not looknormal in polished examples. Dimples are a great indicator of an original surface. Pin-pricks, or micro pins, or microscopic pin pricks are slightlosses of glass only visible under increased magnification. The higher the magnification, the moreevident these become, even in MINT, grade A marbles. These are always less than1mm in diameter. Flea bites are micro pins that are a bit larger, approaching 1mmin diameter (yes, I measure these). Flea bits are not very deep and not much larger than 1-2 mm in diameter. Flea and micro pinprick clusters are concentrated groupings ofthese in very close proximity to each other. Bubble pops: Shallow to deep 'caves' resulting from the loss of athin veneer of glass covering an air bubble after the marble has cooled. Some species of machine marbles, especially those with many interior bubbles, are prone to these. These are notnecessarily easily avoided in some types of marbles. Fractures: One ofseveral types. Hit fractures areassociated with fleas and hits and spider out in different directions andtypically more than one. Annealingfractures are isolated and not associated with hits and thereby are 'as-made'...Idescribe how long they are and if straight etc. Some types of marbles are proneto these, especially larger specimens are very often do not effect enjoyment ofa marble, especially when shallow and short. Sub-surface moons: These are hits that leave the surface in tact, but then lightly fractured the glass below it. They can sparkle or not, and can be slight, half, or fullmoon fractures. Sparkles: Small imperfections under the surface of the glass thatoften only reflect at one angle of incident light. Many of these are inconsequential to the enjoyment ofmarbles. * I will combine shipping if purchasing frommultiple auctions ***INTERNATIONAL PURCHASES: Please be aware that I shipinternationally through the Global Shipping Program to ensure a greaterlikelihood that your package will arrive to you safely; also note that thisprogram does have extra shipping charges, fees & taxes beyond what thisauction states & I cannot make changes to those additional charges**
As an eBay seller, the goal is to providecomprehensive and clear descriptions and photographs of all the marbles sold. Isell all types of vintage marbles, mostly produced before 1950 and I cater toboth experienced and novice collectors alike; designing auctions so that thereis something here for every collector. If you've purchased swilterding marblesbefore, I'd like to thank you again for your patronage. This business model is builton honesty, accuracy, promptness and professionalism. Comments on grading and identification ofmarbles (for machine made and transitionals;note, I am more forgiving with handmades): For the most part, if I statewithout qualification the identification of a marble and its manufacturer, youcan be sure I know this from experience. From time to time, I might makean improper identification; there is a lot going on with marbles and no oneperson can know it all. Couple this fact with misinformation found in thevarious opinions circulating in different marble groups across the county, andsometimes I find might have learned something the wrong way. If I haveuncertainty as to the determination I am making, I will tell you. As for grading, I've given up pretending to know what peoplereally think is a near mint marble, and those that aren't. I've come toconclude that the only way to rate the condition of a marble is to describe it accurately. While Iappreciate that there are a number of different kinds of grading scales in use, I have developed something that works well for this particular site. So here ismy scale: I look at the marble with the unaided eye and grade it, then I hit aloop on it...first 4x power, then up to 20x power or higher for questionablefeatures, and issues that might involve polishing (I do not sell polishedmarbles, in most cases, but they are creeping into collections at an increasingrate, so I remain cautious). I describe all as-mades and let you decidewhat amount you'll tolerate, because very often you have to with some types ofmarbles (note: I suspect that many of these were not chosen for shooting inmarble games, hence many of these survived the wages of children playing withthem). Grade: A: Mint, uncirculated. The best thereis. Only one or two very minor flaws that are only easily detected undermagnification, and certainly mint 'in-hand.' There can only be minoras-mades, and only localized light surface scuffing in isolated areas of themarble. In a word, perfect, and not very common; most circulated marblesnever get there, and even those that appear perfectly mint in hand, probablyall have some flaws under close examination. Most of the marbles for sale hereon this site won't be perfect and the grading is designed to give only thecleanest marbles this rating. When you see this grade, you can be assured youare bidding on a marble as good as can be found. A-: In hand perfect, feel is perfect, and may contain a few of thefollowing: some minimal scuffing, light scratches and short annealingfractures, a few minor tiny microscopic pin pricks or small fleas; most ofthese issues are not obviously evident without careful, close, examination. Ifeel most of our A- marbles would still be considered mint by many collectionsand will look great in collections. B+: Inhand very nice, smooth glass with a few slight rough spots, some scuffing andlight scratching, no deep areas of glass loss; these always have much or mostof the surface area of the marble without imperfections -- that is, some viewsare error free, or nearly so. In truth, many of a collector's prized marblesare in this condition and I often notice that many of my B+ marbles rate in thelow 9's for those that use a numeric scale. Generally A through B+ grades arerespectable marbles in great condition, and the flaws are only a minor issue ortwo with these marbles. B:Still a nice marble in places, but a number of easier to find fleas and microscopicpin pricks, some light hits, scuffing, surface with some abrasions and wear, nomajor areas of glass loss, in hand without magnification the marble looks verygood but flaws can be seen. There must be unblemished areas in parts ofthe surface of the marble, and glass loss not densely distributed throughout. B-: Amarble in this category is starting to accumulate problems, so more of theabove B marble, most notably, there is no view of the marble that could beconsidered the 'public side' of the marble...the one view that is free of mostimperfections at higher magnification. All types of as-mades (chiefly bubble pops and cold rolls and seamroughness) are mentioned, but those are not typically included in thegrade...partly because some types of marbles are prone to these. In some cases, where the marble is perfect, bubble pops and cold rolls of substantial sizewill downgrade the marble to A-. All B marbles are not used heavily andwill always present with nice areas of the marble. C: I will only post these for rare and desirable marbles to allowthose who can't afford the mint examples a chance of owning an example, and inthose cases, I will tell exactly the horrors the marble contains. Sometimes tohave a representative, we have to accept them as they are. These ofcourse, have many fleas, scuffing, hits, sparkles, moons, fractures, explosions, battle scars and all manner of other possible kinds of damage. Condition definitions: Dimples are slight, smooth concavities on the surface of themarble. Sometimes called shrink spot, result from uneven cooling of the moltenglass that shrinks to some extent. These are valuable traits of older glass generally, and will not looknormal in polished examples. Dimples are a great indicator of an original surface. Pin-pricks, or micro pins, or microscopic pin pricks are slightlosses of glass only visible under increased magnification. The higher the magnification, the moreevident these become, even in MINT, grade A marbles. These are always less than1mm in diameter. Flea bites are micro pins that are a bit larger, approaching 1mmin diameter (yes, I measure these). Flea bits are not very deep and not much larger than 1-2 mm in diameter. Flea and micro pinprick clusters are concentrated groupings ofthese in very close proximity to each other. Bubble pops: Shallow to deep 'caves' resulting from the loss of athin veneer of glass covering an air bubble after the marble has cooled. Some species of machine marbles, especially those with many interior bubbles, are prone to these. These are notnecessarily easily avoided in some types of marbles. Fractures: One ofseveral types. Hit fractures areassociated with fleas and hits and spider out in different directions andtypically more than one. Annealingfractures are isolated and not associated with hits and thereby are 'as-made'...Idescribe how long they are and if straight etc. Some types of marbles are proneto these, especially larger specimens are very often do not effect enjoyment ofa marble, especially when shallow and short. Sub-surface moons: These are hits that leave the surface in tact, but then lightly fractured the glass below it. They can sparkle or not, and can be slight, half, or fullmoon fractures. Sparkles: Small imperfections under the surface of the glass thatoften only reflect at one angle of incident light. Many of these are inconsequential to the enjoyment ofmarbles. * I will combine shipping if purchasing frommultiple auctions ***INTERNATIONAL PURCHASES: Please be aware that I shipinternationally through the Global Shipping Program to ensure a greaterlikelihood that your package will arrive to you safely; also note that thisprogram does have extra shipping charges, fees & taxes beyond what thisauction states & I cannot make changes to those additional charges**
