Most Valuable Old Marbles

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.

Most valuable old marbles.

The fine dust kicked up by the grinding machines used in the production process often gave the workers tuberculosis killing them young. There have a fairly morbid backstory. Glazed or unglazed they were colored in tans reds and browns of the clays they were made. Many collectors obsess over old marbles because they remember playing with them as children.

While modern marbles are also used for playing the glass used is not as high quality as the old ones so they could easily break. Today these vintage marbles are collected rather than played with. No one knows exactly when the first marbles were invented but they date back to the times of the ancient egyptians greeks and romans who played with marbles made of stone clay or polished nuts. Wet mint 9 8 9 9 this is the highest grade you could expect to acquire for a hand made marble from over 100 years ago that traveled across the sea and endured decades of handling.

Life expectancy for workers in the factories was around 35. Hobbyzeal s collection of marbles reveals some secrets on how to identify antique marbles for your collection. Black and white navarre marble 1638 this unique zebra colored marble fetched nearly 1700 at auction multiple times more than what most people spend on marbles in their entire lives. Agate marbles were chiefly produced in germany and the us and are among the most valuable on the market.

Originally clay marbles were the least expensive marbles. Affordable glass marbles were first made in the 19th century when a special pair of scissors that. Winning at marble collecting requires practice and knowledge and is not child s play. If the person selling the marbles is old they are more likely to be old too.

They are cheaper and produced in mass volumes so they can be replaced easily even when chipped or damaged. Identifying rare marbles requires playing with the big boys by reading their books attending marble shows and shopping where you can engage in. Collecting marbles is a game and the person with the greatest skill is the winner. Knowing the value of vintage collectible marbles often is a key component when buying marbles because even though you may be building your marble collection just for fun there is an investment aspect to.

Marbles are simply little spherical balls used by children and adults to play a range of games. It is essentially as nice as the day it was made and its surface glass will be devoid of any significant wear and will be shiny. Beginning around 1840 a factory in ohio was producing clay marbles at a rate of 100 000 per day. Commoneys or commies this name refers marbles that are very common.