Emacs won't allow you to set multiple marks in the same position, it's just going to activate the current mark. Hence your reproduction recipe can be simplified to: 1. C-x C-f foo 2. C-SPC => Mark set 3. C-SPC => Mark deactivated 4. C-SPC => Mark activated 5. C-SPC => Mark deactivated 6. C-SPC => Mark activated See how you're not getting "Mark set" any time after the first message? Maybe a couple of sentences should be added to the manual regarding this behavior, because mark ring is often a source of confusion for the new users. Also note that the manual recommends you deactivate the mark before trying to jump to it: https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/emacs/Setting-Mark.html "Instead of setting the mark in order to operate on a region, you can also use it to remember a position in the buffer (by typing ‘C- C-’), and later jump back there (by typing ‘C-u C-’)."