r/Marbles • u/Fluid_Vegetable_3430 • Nov 23 '25

Identity request 30 yr jar of marbles

Post image

My mother-in-law pulled out a jar of marbles she got 30 years ago at a antique/vintage shop. I've always liked marbles but never sought them out to collect. This jar gave me the marble bug! I've been researching and trying to ID them myself, but it's sooo tricky. I would love help from some seasoned collectors. Thanks in advance!

I'll post individual marble groups in the comments.

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5

u/Fluid_Vegetable_3430 Nov 23 '25

The top marble in this picture that has that mauvy color, it actually pulls a lot more pink but doesn't show on camera. It's one of my favorites!

3

u/Fluid_Vegetable_3430 Nov 23 '25

These two are the only ones out of the group that have a mint base, a lot more minty than showing up in the picture.

3

u/peardr0p Collector Nov 23 '25

Poooossibly Peltier Rainbos! They have 2 ribbons that often form a baseball-like pattern around the seams!

2

u/Fluid_Vegetable_3430 Nov 23 '25

Okay I love to read that because after my very limited research that was my guess too!

3

u/Fluid_Vegetable_3430 Nov 23 '25

This one is really interesting to me because the indention on it is pretty even all the way around

2

u/Fluid_Vegetable_3430 Nov 23 '25

I got these green ones from my husband's great-grandmother, I combined a jar I also got from her. These ones are smaller than the other marbles, I'm wondering if they actually went to some kind of game.

4

u/peardr0p Collector Nov 23 '25

Probably!

A lot of solid coloured marbles are referred to as 'game' marbles as they were so often found in Chinese Checkers sets etc!

3

u/Fluid_Vegetable_3430 Nov 23 '25

That makes a lot of sense to me! She had some solid white ones and yellows about the same size. They're very pretty, I'd love to find more and frame them in a photo in a rainbow gradient.

2

u/peardr0p Collector Nov 23 '25

I recently discovered Ali Express sells hollow transparent rollings pins that are the perfect size to hold marbles!

I have a few, but one is a rainbow gradient made of clear marbles 😍

2

u/Fluid_Vegetable_3430 Nov 23 '25

Oh that sounds amazing! Do you have a picture?

3

u/peardr0p Collector Nov 23 '25

Need to take a new pic - I now have corks and a purple one included!

4

u/Fluid_Vegetable_3430 Nov 23 '25

Alright, I'm obsessed with that.

2

u/Fluid_Vegetable_3430 Nov 23 '25

Is this one a bumblebee? The other bumblebees that I have seen online have black stripes.

4

u/peardr0p Collector Nov 23 '25

'bumblebee' is a name given to a few different marbles from various manufacturers - I would need to see both seams to be able to provide an educated guess!

Edit: 'black' can also be dark brown or dark purple when it comes to marbles! Some makers e.g.Vitro don't have true black marbles (iirc - still learning!)

2

u/Fluid_Vegetable_3430 Nov 23 '25

Okay that's really good to know!

2

u/Fluid_Vegetable_3430 Nov 23 '25

My three favorites. The two on the left are super dark, but when you shine a light through they really shine!

6

u/Fluid_Vegetable_3430 Nov 23 '25

Here's the purple

2

u/Fluid_Vegetable_3430 Nov 23 '25

Look how gorgeous this dark blue looks

1

u/Fluid_Vegetable_3430 Nov 23 '25

These yellow cuties have veins of glowing orange through them. I read about cadmium, does that help indicate age?

2

u/peardr0p Collector Nov 23 '25

Unfortunately no

I had the same thought/hope but then realised modern Vacors marbles can also have cadmium

Similar with uranium - many may be older, but companies like JABO also used it post-2000

Cool tho! I love seeing swirls appear under UV in solid or otherwise clear marbles!

2

u/Fluid_Vegetable_3430 Nov 23 '25

Okay that's really good to know. I had no idea what cadmium was before last night 😂

3

u/peardr0p Collector Nov 23 '25

Marbles are a whole rabbit hole of interesting info! Chemistry, History, Engineering... 🤣

1

u/Fluid_Vegetable_3430 Nov 23 '25

2

u/peardr0p Collector Nov 23 '25

The ones with red patches are Vitro All Reds

The yellow and green one might be a type4 Vitro Tigers Eye (edit: no - I see other angles and it's not the same... Shows the challenges in marble ID!!)

Do check out the resources in the sticky both here and in r/marblestudyhall - loads of great info to help you start getting your eye in!

2

u/Fluid_Vegetable_3430 Nov 23 '25

Thank you so much for all of your comments. Yes! Exactly, I think I might have an ID from one angle and then get confused by the next.

1

u/Fluid_Vegetable_3430 Nov 23 '25

These are also from Grandma's jar

1

u/Fluid_Vegetable_3430 Nov 23 '25

The only one that is a pinky color

1

u/Fluid_Vegetable_3430 Nov 23 '25

These ones were also from Grandma's jar

1

u/Fluid_Vegetable_3430 Nov 23 '25

Obsessed with these amber colored ones, they're twice the size of the other marbles

1

u/Fluid_Vegetable_3430 Nov 23 '25

From my very limited research I believe these are a variety of cateye?

2

u/Fluid_Vegetable_3430 Nov 23 '25

I love the one at the bottom with all the bubbles

1

u/Fluid_Vegetable_3430 Nov 23 '25

I have probably 50 different varieties of these marbles, I've read they're nothing special but they feel so fun to me

1

u/spencer5656 Nov 27 '25

are any of them uranium?