Christensen Marbles
The M.F. Christensen & Son Company operated in Akron, Ohio, from 1904 until 1917. Martin Christensen patented the first marble-making machine. Many M.F. Christensen marbles are transitional, because the glass was gathered by a punty and dripped by hand over the rotating machine. The machinery rounded the marble. M.F. Christensen machines did not have the automatic feed systems. The molten glass had to be hand-fed off a punty into the machinery. Later M.F. Christensen marbles do not have pontils.
 RARE HUGE PINCH PONTIL TRANSITIONAL MARBLE 1 3 16 CAC or MF CHRISTENSEN $2,000.00 |
 BB Marbles BB3983 Christensen Agate Exotic 9 16 95 $950.00 |
 29 32 CHRISTENSEN AGATE PEACH SLAG $500.00 |
 BB Marbles 3961 Christensen Agate Guinea 17 32 90 $295.00 |
 RARE GIANT MF CHRISTENSEN OXBLOOD BRICK MARBLE 7 8 $275.00 |
 Vintage Marbles Christensen Agate Guinea Cobra $255.00 |
 Marbles MF Christensen Oxblood Brick Antique Marble $150.00 |
 228 MINT 11 16 MF Christensen American Cornelian Oxblood Brick $136.25 |
 3071 BB Marbles Christensen Agate Handgathered 9 16 $110.00 |
 13 16ths Christensen Flame Swirl 94 condition $100.00 |
 Marbles Christensen Striped Opaque 011011 1 S1 $100.00 |
 Marbles Christensen Agate Striped Opaque 082910 23AU $100.00 |
 AMAZING MF CHRISTENSEN BRICK MARBLE OXBLOOD w BLACK $95.00 |
 Vintage Gigantic 1 1 16 Christensen Amber Slag $95.00 |
 CHRISTENSEN AGATE GUINEA MARBLE 21 32 MINT $67.00 |
 Marbles AWESOME VINTAGE CAC CHRISTENSEN AGATE FLAME SWIRL MARBLE 11 16 $66.00 |
 BB Marbles FR 3821 MF Christensen Brick 21 32 89 $60.00 |
 Marbles Mint 25 32 MF Christensen 9 Amber Slag $50.09 |
This is probably due to refinements in the glass temperature and timing, rather than improvements in the machinery. It is not known if the company ever developed automatic feed or shearing mechanisms.
M.F. Christensen marbles are strictly single-stream marbles. They are either single-color opaque or two-color slag or swirl. This is because the glass for a particular batch was all mixed in one furnace pot and not the separate streams used by later manufactures. Interestingly, there do not appear to be any M.F. Christensen & Son Company marbles the exhibit a distinctive set of three colors. The company seems to have confined itself to marbles of only one or two colors.
