Vintage Akro Agate Co. Oxblood Marble Pairing (2)
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:61617300 | Modified Item: No |
| Time Period: Pre-1970 | Country/Region of Manufacture: United States |
| Type: Machine Made | Style: Oxblood |
| Brand: Akro Agate | UPC: Does not apply |
AkroAgate Co. oxblood marble pairing (2) -- sizes: 0.62" (5/3")for both marbles in the pairing; these specimens both present mint in hand, under magnification, each one shows a few light scratches (grade: strong A- for both). Sweet little groupingof good quality Akro oxblood marbles -- lot includes a lemonade & silver oxbloodwith good pattern & condition for both and considerable white glass in thesilver. Both have oxblood that travels away from the surface to dive partlyinside... of the 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 shipping charges: I will combine shipping if purchasing from multiple auctions, please wait until the auctions end for the evening and I will send an invoice;if you are an international buyer, please email before bidding to confirm the shipping price. Due to rising postal costs through USPS, the shipping costs willbe slightly higher starting in 2021; also, please note that some postings maycarry a higher shipping price initially, due to the likelihood of addedinsurance fees. However, if the shipping price is lower than originallyestimated, a refund will be quickly issued to the buyer. 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 under magnification, and certainly mint 'in-hand.' There can only be minor as-mades, and onlylocalized light surface scuffing in isolated areas of the marble. In aword, perfect, and not very common; most circulated marbles never get there, and even those that appear perfectly mint in hand, probably all have some flawsunder close examination. Most of the marbles for sale here on this site won'tbe perfect and the grading is designed to give only the cleanest marbles thisrating. When you see this grade, you can be assured you are bidding on a marbleas good as can be found. A-: Inhand perfect, feel is perfect, and may contain a few of the following: someminimal scuffing, light scratches and short annealing fractures, a few minortiny microscopic pin pricks or small fleas; most of these issues are notobviously evident without careful, close, examination. I feel most of our A-marbles would still be considered mint by many collections and will look greatin collections. B+: In handvery nice, smooth glass with a few slight rough spots, some scuffing and lightscratching, no deep areas of glass loss; these always have much or most of thesurface area of the marble without imperfections -- that is, some views areerror free, or nearly so. In truth, many of a collector's prized marbles are inthis condition and I often notice that many of my B+ marbles rate in the low9'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 andmicroscopic pin pricks, some light hits, scuffing, surface with some abrasionsand wear, no major areas of glass loss, in hand without magnification themarble looks very good but flaws can be seen. There must be unblemishedareas in parts of the surface of the marble, and glass loss not denselydistributed 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 of course, have many fleas, scuffing, hits, sparkles, moons, fractures, explosions, battlescars 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.
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 shipping charges: I will combine shipping if purchasing from multiple auctions, please wait until the auctions end for the evening and I will send an invoice;if you are an international buyer, please email before bidding to confirm the shipping price. Due to rising postal costs through USPS, the shipping costs willbe slightly higher starting in 2021; also, please note that some postings maycarry a higher shipping price initially, due to the likelihood of addedinsurance fees. However, if the shipping price is lower than originallyestimated, a refund will be quickly issued to the buyer. 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 under magnification, and certainly mint 'in-hand.' There can only be minor as-mades, and onlylocalized light surface scuffing in isolated areas of the marble. In aword, perfect, and not very common; most circulated marbles never get there, and even those that appear perfectly mint in hand, probably all have some flawsunder close examination. Most of the marbles for sale here on this site won'tbe perfect and the grading is designed to give only the cleanest marbles thisrating. When you see this grade, you can be assured you are bidding on a marbleas good as can be found. A-: Inhand perfect, feel is perfect, and may contain a few of the following: someminimal scuffing, light scratches and short annealing fractures, a few minortiny microscopic pin pricks or small fleas; most of these issues are notobviously evident without careful, close, examination. I feel most of our A-marbles would still be considered mint by many collections and will look greatin collections. B+: In handvery nice, smooth glass with a few slight rough spots, some scuffing and lightscratching, no deep areas of glass loss; these always have much or most of thesurface area of the marble without imperfections -- that is, some views areerror free, or nearly so. In truth, many of a collector's prized marbles are inthis condition and I often notice that many of my B+ marbles rate in the low9'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 andmicroscopic pin pricks, some light hits, scuffing, surface with some abrasionsand wear, no major areas of glass loss, in hand without magnification themarble looks very good but flaws can be seen. There must be unblemishedareas in parts of the surface of the marble, and glass loss not denselydistributed 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 of course, have many fleas, scuffing, hits, sparkles, moons, fractures, explosions, battlescars 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.
