Hello again, Chopstick.

All excellent suggestions, sir, most of which I have not yet tried. Rest assured that I will be implementing your ideas in the very near future.

Thank you so much once more for taking the time to help, I'm very grateful.

Best wishes.

Im running down some promising leads, but if im going to go full time on this case, im going to need you to pay expenses. Ive already booked flights to Tampa and then Des Moines where I need a rental car because my contact is in Marysville and its too far for him to drive to the airport to meet me.

No problem, sir, how much do you need?

Thank you so much for helping out, sincerely appreciated.

I would estimate the cost at about 350.

The King of Diamonds would be a romantic fellow. GL in your search for his balls!

Thank you, sir, it is proving quite a tough quest.

I remain confident, however, that somebody out there has the ball... or even a full set.

This thread is pleasantly surprising and surprisingly pleasant. What's your oldest set? Any ones with cool marbling or metallic or something? Did they ever make weird holographic ones in the 90s?

Lets just get me setup on with a high limit credit card and then we wont have to worry about the day to day. I'll PM you the forms to sign!

https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/s-...95606-187-2067

I just saw it for 100€ VB which means the seller is willing to negotiate on the price and I would assume you could get him down to 80€ or even less..

Doctor Z.

Thank you for the kind words, sir, much appreciated. My oldest set is from the late 1960s or early 1970s. I made a decision to collect billiard balls that were younger than me, a choice partly driven because those were the sets that I found most appealing, but also down to the fact that I don't have unlimited funds and had to draw he line somewhere.

I am the proud owner of several marble-style sets (I'll post a picture of one later) but none that feature holograms to the best of my knowledge. The two sets that come to mind are Aramith's Great White Shark Balls (very faint images of sharks all over the surface) or one of the earlier incarnations of the Playboy Balls with a fiery, glitter-like logo. Were you thinking of one of these sets perhaps, sir?


Alobar.

I have ordered the credit card, my friend. I have arranged for you to collect it at 2:00am next Friday from a gentleman called Cesar behind the parking lot on Franklin Street in Ybor. Go alone and don't look him in the eye.

Once again, thank you so much for going to all this trouble, it really is sincerely appreciated.


Madlex.

Those Raschigs look to be in great shape! I cannot read the German description, does it state in what condition they are advertised? And are you in Germany yourself, sir? If you can snap them up for €80 and are prepared to then ship them to Texas, I'll certainly give you a profit.

Let me know if you would like to get in the middle of the deal, Lex. If not, I'll certainly try to buy them directly myself with grateful thanks.


Best wishes, everyone.

I love collectors and the obsession different people have for different things. For awhile, I collected glass ashtrays of vintage Las Vegas hot spots and casinos. Like this:



After I moved from a 1970s house to a modern apartment, I sold my collection, as it didn't really fit with my new place.

Over the years, I've also collected vinyl, books, and movie posters.

I'm sure in the future I will find something else to collect.

I never would've thought that billiard balls would be worth collecting, but - of course they are! These are all very cool and I'd like to see more pics.

Hello, Dominic.

I share your sentiments, sir. Collecting billiard balls (or glass ashtrays) might perhaps be considered a little eccentric in grown men, but it's a harmless pastime and one which proves a welcome distraction (for me anyway) from one's worries.

There is also a certain thrill in hunting down a rare piece (like my quest in starting this thread) and great satisfaction in unearthing a treasure or two along the way.

Thank you for the kind words and best wishes.

Keep an eye out for that diamond king ball for me, Dominic, he's in Las Vegas somewhere!

Alobar.

I've just noticed that you're a moderator of the forum. I wonder if I could ask a favour please, sir?

When creating this thread, in my haste I made an annoying typo in the title. The heading was supposed to read "Can you find this pool ball? $100 Reward." The fact that I omitted the word "you" is now really bugging me. Could you correct it for me, old chap?

Description says no visible signs of usage, as good as new.

Sorry, I am in the US, too. If you are able to buy them and the seller can’t ship to the US for some reason, I might be able to help with that.

That is most generous, sir, thank you very much indeed!

I'll fire off an email to the seller and offer €80 plus another €50 for shipping to Texas. I'll let you know the outcome.

All the best.

Ruperman,

What are your, and the collector community at large's, thoughts on ivory balls?

Good morning, Off Topic.

Ah, you have rather touched a nerve for me with that question, sir. Personally, I abhor the ivory trade in all its forms. Regardless of whether any item was pre 1947 or not, my own view is that all sales should be banned. Period.

As a billiard ball collector it truly upsets me greatly that this industry has such an awful past history, all the more shameful for me in that it was my fellow Englishmen who were the worst culprits.

Apologies for the rant.

I am by no means a serious collector of anything, but I do enjoy picking up colorful currency, preferably with animals or sailboats pictured, when I go thru different countries. Have recently expanded that to also picking up sweet coins with animals or sailboats on them as well.

No interest in trading them with real collectors, although I do give them away to friends who might appreciate them. No interest in anything from places I haven't been. No interest in having someone else get them for me. Don't care how much they are worth. Just like having a nice little assortment to look at and enjoy.

Here are some of my favorites (sorry for the hijack, Ruperman!):




















I wonder if we have enough people in OOT who collect or "collect" things to make an interesting thread out of this where we talk about what it is we're interested in, why, and share photos and stories.

I am definitely a collector, though not in any regimented way. Ruperman, this has turned into a (somewhat surprisingly) awesome thread. Thanks for posting. Your collection is beautiful.

I collect some art, mostly lithographs. Among my favorites is Ralph Steadman's Savage Journey. While that link describes it as a "poster," it most definitely is not. Steadman is getting old and his estate has been publishing signed giclee prints which I find annoying. The litho I have is one of 250, and I suspect it is worth more than the $600 I paid for it.

Recently I've gotten into pocket knives, which are really great for collecting: Most seem to cost less than $100 and they are excellent examples of vintage production. Lots of upstate NY manufacturers (some people collect regionally), and pieces are affordable and in good shape back to the early 1900s.



Two pruning knives from Kuhn and Sonns in Dresden, Germany, probably circa 1930s. Top one is in excellent shape, but I want to sell it. It's actually just too nice and a bit large (paid $60). Bottom one was in ****ty condition when I bought it ($25) but I love the smaller size. Both have beautiful brass liners and a great weight and feel. It's very satisfying to get a knife that is all rusted and crudded up, and spend an hour going over it with some 0000 steel wool ...

Any other collectors out there know the feeling of getting obsessed with an item? Like, you see something on eBay and you just *have* to get it?

For a while I was buying old Bates Mfg phone indexes and restoring them, researching the company ...





Those I bought for like $15 or $20 but one day I saw this ...



Bates got Norman Bel Geddes to design some of these spinoffs in the 30s. I was completely obsessed with the above index but bailed on the auction at about $225 ... Now I look at it and I don't feel the same draw. It's a very strange feeling.

This has been the most surprisingly enjoyable little thread I've read on this forum in quite some time. Thanks OP, carry on and best of luck in your search.

To add to the recent derail, somehow I've found myself a collector of The Hobbit books. PM if you have an old one you want to get rid of.