Bizarre BEACHCOMBER war erupts over marbles deliberately tipped into ocean to ... trends now
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
