Sea glass
Sea glass
Modern, not fossil — but a steady consolation prize on tooth hunts and a kid's gateway drug to beachcombing. Decades of tumbling in surf gravel produces frosted edges and a soft satin finish. Brown, green, and clear are most common; cobalt blue and red are jackpot rare.
How to spot it
- ▸Frosted, satin surface — true sea glass is never glossy
- ▸Edges fully rounded, no sharp facets
- ▸Brown (beer bottles) and green (wine, soda) dominate; clear is from old window glass
- ▸Cobalt blue (old medicine bottles) and red (vintage car taillights, ship lanterns) are the rare jackpots
- ▸Hold to the light — true sea glass is uniformly translucent, not cloudy plastic
Easy to confuse with
- ·Beach plastic (lighter, often retains glossy spots)
- ·Modern broken glass (sharp edges, fresh fracture)
Reported at these sites
About the category
Modern glass tumbled smooth by decades in the surf. A steady consolation prize when the teeth aren't biting.