How to Collect Marbles
Collect marbles for beauty or investment. Antique marbles are still available, and contemporary art glass marbles are being made daily. Some of the best glass artisans of today are making lampwork and swirl art glass marbles for sale.
A little knowledge in collecting marbles will turn your collection into an investment.
- Difficulty:
- Moderately Easy
Instructions
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Choose a niche.
Decide on an era and style of marbles you want to collect. It is easier to learn a small area of marble collecting than to try to learn all kinds of marbles. Choose whether you want to collect antique or modern, swirls, sulphides, lampwork, or a special maker. Many of the laticcino swirls were made in Germany, but most of the early Twentieth Century marbles were American made by companies like Akro Agate and Christensen.
New art glass marbles are often from paperweight artists like David Salazar and Paul Stankard.
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Learn about your marbles category or niche.
Spend some quality time reading on the internet or at the public library so you can develop knowledge in the era and kind of marbles you choose to collect.
See what marbles are available and at what price. Hopefully, you have chosen a niche that is somewhat available at a price you can afford.
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3
Collect by quality.
Whatever niche you choose, quality is the dominant characteristic to look for. Marbles that are near mint condition are collectible. Marbles with dings, fractures, or significant scuffs are not investment marbles. A contemporary marble needs to be perfect; vintage marbles may have some minor damage.
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Check marbles up close
Use a blacklight and a magnifier.
Look over any orb before you purchase to check for internal fractures and external damage. Everything you need to know about a marble cannot be seen without help. That help comes in the way of a loupe or magnifier and a blacklight. Neon marbles that glow with the black light are usually more valuable than non-neons, so that is a side benefit of the use of the blacklight. The black light will also help see internal damage.
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Look for multiple colors
Collect marbles by color.
More colors in a marble usually make it more valuable. Most marbles are one, two or three colors, so if you see marbles with four or five colors, they are likely more valuable. Also, companies like Christensen produced marbles in unique colors.
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Some colors and sizes are more collectible
Collect marbles by size.
Collect marbles that are large or small. Peewee marbles and large marbles are more valuable because they are not as common as 5/8 inch or 7/8 inch size. Peewee handmade swirls were also more difficult to make than the larger ones, so there are fewer available.
Find enjoyment when you collect marbles and create pleasant memories of collecting for investment and fun.
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Tips & Warnings
We often write about collecting art glass and pottery. See more information in Resources below.
copyright 2009 Linda Richard
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