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Saturday, August 23, 2008

Looking at colors: Kelly Green

Green sea glass-- alternately referred to as "common" green, "Kelly green" or sometimes "Heineken green"-- is the third most common color in sea glass collecting.

Although quite a common color, it is actually also fairly "new", when it comes to collecting sea glass. Green, as a color for sea glass collecting, comes in a great many different shades some of which can be extremely rare. Most sea glass experts and collectors limit the "distinct and named" shades to about 6-7, but I have identified close to 30 distinct (repeating) shades of green in my own collection.

If you examine antique (100+ years old) green glass , you'll find that most of it comes either in very bluish or olive green shades. The "pure" kelly green we typically find on beaches today has mostly been mass produced during the past 60-70 years, most often for beer and soda bottles-- it is more common in some countries than others.

To see more pictures of green sea glass, please visit my Green Sea Glass Photo Album on Flickr!