Although marbles can be affordable for all collector budgets avid collectors know that prices can range into the thousands of dollars.
Is there any money in making marbles.
As a result collectors have become interested in finding rare or interesting examples.
The number of makers and collectors has increased by orders of magnitude during the past two decades.
There was an article called the 150 million pizza.
The prices of the most expensive marble are.
Almost every marble collection contains a few inexpensive steelies.
Clearly we re in some form of a mania.
Sulphide marbles which feature animals and other figures inside clear glass are very rare as they have not been produced for around 100 years rarer still are those featuring human figures.
Even if you have determined that the marble that s being offered to you is vintage it doesn t mean that you should get it at a high price.
Older clay handmade marbles are simple and lack decoration.
Over the years increasingly intricate and beautiful marbles have become available.
Twenty five years ago there were only a handful of artists and craftsmen making glass and china spheres.
I buy marbles and related items and will pay top.
I m making some money.
Solid core swirl marbles made in 1998 surprisingly have a value of 25 to 40 each.
While you may not be an expert in collectible marbles there are several key things you can look for to help you determine the general value of vintage collectible marbles.
Make sure to ask the seller about the origin of the marbles.
Check the condition of the marble.
Recently there has been a explosion of interest in modern handmade marbles.
Look for pits and internal fractures with a loupe or magnifying glass.
Note that unscrupulous dealers have been known to reproduce marbles and sell them as old or antique.
It s gone crazy but it s a lot of fun and people are making money.
Many collectors obsess over old marbles because they remember playing with them as children.
Antique glass marbles are highly collectible from handmade examples by german glassmakers of the 1800s to vintage marbles made by machine in the early 20th century by u s.
This type is for many collectors the holy grail.
In fact a sulphide marble featuring teddy roosevelt sold for 4 500 in a 2011 sale.
Steelies are metal marbles normally made for industrial use and are fairly common.
You can often see vintage marbles selling for 50 100 a pop but the costs of the most expensive marbles in the world make that seem like nothing.
If in doubt go back to the different factors discussed on how to identify an antique marble.
Prices for these may be less than 50.
Companies like christensen peltier glass akro agate and vitro agate.
And there were only a few serious collectors.