How to Collect Valuable Marbles
The world of marble collecting is still a relatively new one because it wasn't until the 1980s and 1990s that people realized the value of these items. Today there are three main categories of marbles used by collectors, with some reaching four and five figures on the secondary market. Picking a category is just one step in collecting valuable marbles.
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Instructions
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Choose a type or category of marbles that you want to collect: handmade or machine made. Handmade marbles were created by artisans using readily available materials such as clay. Glass marbles were introduced during the factory age when machines could mass produce the marbles.
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Look for glass and clay marbles created in Germany, which are the most highly collectible marbles and those that fetch the highest prices. These marbles were produced from 1850-1920 and ended when the United States stopped importing German-made products following World War I.
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Learn the difference between handmade and machine made marbles. Handmade marbles usually show signs of the pole, which was used to blow the molten glass into a spherical shape. You can look for a small mark or rough spot on the marble, which indicates it was made by hand.
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Buy marbles that are from the 1920s and earlier, making this the focal point of your collection. These marbles are more valuable, especially if you find a set in good condition, inside the original packaging. Mass produced or machine produced marbles were often sold in a bag with a paper label that indicates the name of the manufacturer and occasionally the date when it was produced.
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Collect marbles that have good eye appeal, which is a feature prized by collectors. This refers to marbles that catch and hold the eye of others and generally means the marble has a design of some kind and uses several colors or shades in the design.
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Tips & Warnings
Eye appeal, size, type and condition are the four factors collectors look at when determining the value of a marble. The best and most valuable are those that are in good condition, are handmade, have a good appeal to other collectors and are the right size for their collection.
Don't buy marbles with John Deere, Coca-Cola, Pepsi or other advertising printed on the front. These marbles are modern day collectibles that are only worth a few dollars and were never released by the companies as advertising promos.
