posted on September 25, 2000 02:54:52 PM new
I have an A&W Root Beer mug full of old marbles that were my dad's when he was just a pup. He would have been 80 next year, just so you know what we're talking about here. Anyway, how can I tell what is valuable, and what isn't? What should I look for in terms of value? Anyone?
posted on September 25, 2000 05:50:33 PM new
I dont think there is many marble experts here since I think two weeks ago from the looks of this board many of us lost ours in paypal threads.
seriously marbles usually sell hot hot hot on yahoo and I have seen the better ones sell up to $80 each might want to do a quick search of curent and past sales on yahoo and see if any marbles you have match
buy the way the rule of thumb for marbles is to remove the metal ones and the clears ones and sort the rest by size metal and clear marbles most tend to not be as old or valuble this dont mean to toss them out it means set then aside for later
also not all marble are glass the glass ones are the ones that are big $$$$ not plastic in most cases inless the plastic could be like bakelite.
WWW.dman-n-company.com
posted on September 25, 2000 06:04:05 PM new
Of course, if you find Sulfides, which are really a "cameo" inside of a marble, you will have a nice mini-vacation. Buy a book, or look at one for free at Border's!
posted on September 25, 2000 06:14:12 PM new
My husband and I collected marbles for about 4 years. We decided to sell our collection because reproductions killed the market. I would suggest finding someone local who is knowledgable. Don't waste your time with a book, you'll just get confused, frustrated and waste your money. They all look the same when you first start and if you aren't considering collecting it's not worth the hassle for a couple dozen marbles.
posted on September 25, 2000 07:42:40 PM new
Hi Muriel,
The first thing you need to find out is whether or not you have some hand made glass marbles in that mug. There are also some quite valuable machine made marbles out there as well. Like any field of collecting there is a ton to learn about marbles,and identifing them can be a formidable task. Hand made marbles will have rough spots on opposite poles called "pontils" where they were formed and twisted from the cane of class. Sometimes examples only had one pontil mark. There are images of these types of marbles and many other examples at this site:
There are some pretty nice books available too. Bob Block (owner of the site above) has written some good books and is usually pretty good about helping folks with marble identification and values. (There's a marble chat board too)
Try doing some searches on eBay for marbles as well. There are lots to look at and you may see some like what you have. Good luck.
posted on September 25, 2000 08:06:04 PM new
I dealt in marbles for about 3 years...one of the most difficult collectibles to learn! The market can change on a dime, and they can be very confusing. Not to mention that the real marble collectors look at them through a 100 magnification glass(not kidding!). Condition is EVERYTHING in a marble...even the slightest "ding" deflates the value. My best advice-check out Block's site that was already mentioned and see if you can find a marble collectors club near you. The best learning experience in marbles is to hang out and question the marble dealers. Many times the area clubs have shows and swaps. I belonged to the Buckeye Marble Collectors Club and found most if not all of the dealers and collectors to be very enthusiastic about teaching and identifying.
