For beachcombers, finding a perfectly frosted sea glass marble lying in the sand used to be a rare, sought after prize.
But in recent years, some searchers have started ‘seeding’ marbles, dumping them into the water for future generations to find once they’ve been transformed.
The practice has sparked a furious war online, throwing beachcomber groups into chaos with purists arguing the practice destroys the novelty and excitement of finding a marble, while a liberal faction take a no harm, no foul approach.
One of the most militant purists, Dave Valle, 55, who has been kicked out of three Facebook groups over the row, told The Boston Globe: ‘A marble is supposed to be the most exciting thing to find beachcombing. It’s the ultimate treasure.
‘They say they’re leaving this for the future? It’s littering. And it sucks the magic out of it. Who wants to find a marble someone threw there?’
Dave Valle is one of the most militant purists against the process of ‘seeding’ marbles
Founder of a sea glass online forum, Stephen Hopkins, takes a more liberal approach, but has had to ban the topic from his forum
Finding a sea glass marble used to be a once in a lifetime experience, but now purists say it can happen multiple times a day
Sea glass collection boomed in popularity during the pandemic, with enthusiasts flocking to online forums to share their hauls, creations and discuss potential origins of their specimens.
There is no such thing as a completely ‘natural’ sea marble, but historically marbles have found their way into the sea while children played with them, or were knocked in from Boardwalk amusement parks, or were used as bottle stoppers.
A few years ago however, Valle says people in Rhode Island started ‘seeding’ marbles.
The practice caught on online and spread like wildfire until there were so many ‘seeded’ marbles that finding one went from a once in a lifetime experience to something that happened once a day.
Seeding drove Valle mad and he started clashing with anyone who posted photos of what he believed to be impure hauls online.
When one person shared a photo of 40 marbles found in a single day’s hunt, he started his own online group, Don’t Worry Be Glassy, and only allowed dedicated ‘purists’ like himself in.
Valle took no prisoners in his approach to the debate, attacking anyone he thought was condoning seeding.
One of the men he clashed with is Stephen Hopkins, the founder of the area’s largest online forum New England Sea Glass Searchers.
Hopkins takes a more liberal approach to seeding than Valle, acknowledging that the line between seeded and natural glass is blurred.
He told the Globe: ‘Dave’s angle is to say he only has the pure stuff.
‘But then you’d have people say something like they found some glass that wasn’t cooked yet on a beach where kids play, so they moved it down away from where they play, and he’d go after them and say that’s seeding.’
Valle loves sea glass hunting and makes art from his finds
Valle refuses to tell anyone where he finds most of his hauls
The debate became so heated that Hopkins had to ban the topic from his forum.
Some in the liberal faction, like Richard LaMotte, say: ‘It does feel a little like cheating, but they’re not harmful or hazardous, and I think about little kids who might never find a marble. That’s a memory maker.’
They argue that the current supply of sea glass is running out as it is collected and is being replaced by plastic.
They also say that modern ‘trash glass’ doesn’t have the structural integrity to form new sea glass as it splinters and disintegrates, whereas marbles have the strength and composition to quickly form beautiful new pieces.
But the purists say it ‘cheapens’ the process, Mary McCarthy, a Maryland based beachcomber told the Globe: ‘Throwing marbles is Easter egging. It’s artificial.’
McCarthy travels the country helping other combers identify the provenance of their finds, but now she said: ‘I spend too much time informing people their precious marble was purchased two years ago at a Michael’s.’
Sea glass hunting boomed in popularity during the pandemic with thousands of people now members of online forums
Members share photos of their hauls and discuss potential origins of different pieces of glass
The International Sea Glass Association does not have an official policy on seeding, but the organization’s president said it is highly discouraged.
César Williams-Padín said: ‘Sea glass tells a story, but with seeding it takes away that excitement and history.
‘There’s plenty of glass in the ocean. It doesn’t need more. And glass is going to continue to end up in the ocean without us adding to it.’
Valle’s argument, that he has had time and time again online, is that seeding marbles is just not necessary.
He said: ‘You don’t need marbles for this to be magic.’