So, we’re on the beach the other day and my husband hands over a black rock. Dear, I’m collecting sea glass, not rocks. Nice try. But it’s not a rock. It looks just like a rock, but it’s sorta purple? Hey wait! Honey! This is black sea glass! Do you know how rare this is? Do you know how old this is? How did you spot it?
I got the precious black mystery shard home but part of me wasn’t convinced that it was in fact glass. That is, until I held it up to the sunlight and saw an ever so faint blue glow. Definitely glass.
I had a burning desire to know where it came from. I was thinking it was at least from the 1700’s. I was thinking we snagged a real goodie.
Then I consulted the experts over at Sea Glass Lovers and found out what it was: Slag. That’s right slag. It sounds likes something you would call the lady who leaves her lipstick-smeared cigarette butts on your sidewalk. Something you would call the able-bodied guy who double parks his Mercedes in two handicapped parking spots at the grocery store.
But this wasn’t any old slag it was supposedly lightbulb slag.
According to one experienced sea glass junkie who is also on the shores of Lake Erie (on the U.S. side in Ohio), black amethyst glass slag comes from the furnaces of lightbulb manufacturing facilities.
Another avid ‘glasser’ named Emily also in Ohio, finds heaps of the stuff in an area where there was a former GE plant. The plant operated for seventy years before closing its doors last year.
Check out her haul for one day!
And guess what? It looks like a Turkish Delight inside! Look at that lovely amethyst glass!
The coolest thing about all this is that the beach where Emily found all the Turkish Delight is that it’s on the way to the North American Sea Glass Festival – which I happen to be attending! On the downside, some days the pieces are covered in sand and its slim pickins’. Hopefully, the slag gods will on my side on the day that I visit and I’ll come home with a bucket full of purple!
8 Comments so far
Leave a comment
Hello! I haven’t collected sea glass being that we’re on Lake Erie, but I’m just discovering that the lake does give beach glass. I have found a good sized chunk of rugged, shiny, black glass (?), I think. I thought it might be slag, but it looks very shiny on one side even when dry. I really enjoyed reading this. I also enjoyed this site: http://reviews.ebay.com/Lake-Erie-Beach-Glass-Colour-Rarity-Rank_W0QQugidZ10000000004775325
Thanks much. I have a lot more research to do in order to find anything on the beaches here. I live in the southeastern part of Michigan.
By Therese on 06.24.10 9:52 pm | Permalink
Nice article and neat “find”. Lake Erie, has a history of being surrounded by glass plants and steel foundries. Much of the by product (ie: waste) found its way into the Great lakes, unfortunately, since most plants are built on a river or lake for cooling water. I am a ceramic engineer, making glass for over thirty years and also have a collection of unique pieces, but not like what you have. I have recently been finding purple glass around lakes in Oklahoma and Texas. This is pre-turn of the century flint (clear) glass that was de-colored with Manganese, which turns purple, when exposed to the UV rays of the sun. The local “good old boys” would toss their liquor bottles away, along the shores. Lead oxides were at a premium during the Civil War because lead was needed for making bullets.
By Dan Carman on 06.24.12 7:15 pm | Permalink
Hi Dan. Thanks for your comment! I have lots of purple glass too, found in Leamington, Ontario. I have been told that putting it in a window makes it even a darker shade of purple, so I put them on my window sill. Still haven’t determined if this works or not.
I ended up finding plenty of purple slag in Ohio during a trip there a couple of years ago. Not sure where you are based, but if you want to know where the beach is, just let me know.
By Christina on 06.24.12 7:48 pm | Permalink
Hello,
I am a relatively new collector, getting hooked after a trip to Bar Harbor, Maine recently. We have the occasion to be in the area around PA/OH Lake Erie shores and I was wondering where the best beaches to look there might be. We would love to spend a few hours and add to our collection.
Thank you!
Lisa
By Lisa on 08.14.12 6:52 am | Permalink
always thought this stuff was obsidian! I have a large shoe box full of it.
By djm on 12.03.12 8:15 pm | Permalink
i visit Conneaut, OH every summer and am addicted to finding beach glass. each year I put together a jar or other display that utilizes what we found. Last year, we visited after a storm in September and brought home bucket fulls of the cobalt and black amethyst. I discovered while researching that in the 1950’s and 60’s, many people used the old slag to shore up the beaches to fight erosion.
By cathy on 04.25.13 6:11 am | Permalink
I am headed to Conneaut this weekend and am wondering if anyone could lead me to the best beach, I collect glass on Lake Michigan but am heading that way and would like to spend a few hours there. Thank you in advance for any tips.
By Barb on 09.10.13 1:27 pm | Permalink
Thanks for identifying that funny rock. I thought it might be garnet. The beaches on Presque Isle have very little of this. Conneaut and Ashtubula beaches have lots. There are also some nice green pieces that some people have told me is chert, but others slag. It is very green, dark green. I have been picking up beach glass for 40 years! I have several pieces of the purple from the manganese reacting to sunlight.
By Cean schopf on 07.11.15 8:44 pm | Permalink
Leave a comment