Feature photo found and taken by: Barby Jo Adkins
One of the most coveted shoreline treasures is the beach glass marble. Many search years and never find one. Where do they come from and why are they here? Dig the Dunes searched the internet for answers and found few.
WestCoastSeaGlass.com stated that marbles provided weight on cargo ships many years ago. They also said some bottles in the 1800’s used a marble as a stopper. UncommonGoods.com mentioned there was a marble factory near Lake Erie and that there were shipwrecks in Lake Michigan and the ships were carrying them. Of course there were amusement parks along the shore and children played with marbles all the time, but it still seems odd to see them washed up on shore. And although they are hard to find, sometimes they are found in groups of 10 or 20.
They seem to be found more frequently in Wisconsin, but don’t rule the dunes out! We know of several that have been found in Whiting, Beverly Shores and Central Ave beach.
Some other, very cool, treasures have been washed up on our beaches. Thank you to our readers for sharing! (we received so many and may use some of the others in future articles).
“Oh so many things. Besides the thousands of pieces of beach glass, these are a few of the more unique pieces. Green glass has Coca Cola half written on it.” – Joni Loeper Knight
“GOOD FOR 5 CENTS IN TRADE token from the early 1900’s when trade was accepted. Found by Mt. Baldy.” – Phillip Jeffrey Kohler
“A coke can from the 1950’s” – Kelly Campbell
Bottle found by Karen Holland. She finds all sorts of treasures near Whiting and has “too many to post!”
Bottle stopper found by Barby Jo Adkins. Barby also makes beautiful jewelry from her treasures!
“I found this near Michigan city.It seems to be petrified…maybe a bear tooth.” – Jeffrey Rickstrom
Lots of people turn their finds into real treasures. Jewelry, wine charms, wind chimes and more! Be sure to check out Beach Bum jewels, Treasures by the Tide, @timetofly2015 on instagram and consider joining Dig the Dunes for our beach glass wind chime class at Byway Brewing on November 7!
Connect with like-minded beach glass lovers. Join the Lake Michigan Sea Glass Collectors group on facebook, right here.
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