Rare & Old Marbles That Are Worth Money
Large Divided Core Swirl Marble: $27,700 (2011) This is one of the largest, rarest, and most expensive marbles ever sold at auction. This handmade, German glass marble features a beautiful divided core swirl design, with orange, green, white, and black ribbons radiating from the center. It was likely made between the 1850s and early 1900s, and is in impeccable condition. It’s also unusually large, at 3 1/16 inch (7.7 cm) diameter, which definitely adds to its value. Estimated value: $8,000 to $12,000
Pink Opaque Lutz Marble: $25,300 (2012) This banded opaque Lutz marble is a beautiful handmade, German glass marble from the late 1800s. It features a unique candy-colored design, with a solid pink background and bands of shimmery copper, green, and white. Due to its rare colorway, mint condition, and fragility, it sold for a whopping $25k in 2012. A similar pink opaque Lutz marble sold for $9k in 2012, too! Estimated value: $8,000 to $12,000
Shrunken Core Onionskin Marble: $16,800 (2021) This striking handmade, German glass marble was likely crafted before the 1880s. It features a red and yellow shrunken core on one end and an explosion of silvery mica flakes on the other end. The sides are a beautiful onionskin design, with stripes of white, blue, and red glass. Its most unique feature is its faceted pontil point, creating a gem-like surface where the marble was detached from the glassblowing rod (called a pontil rod). Estimated value: $20,000 to $30,000
Shrunken Core Onionskin Marble: $12,980 (2013) This is another handmade, German glass marble featuring a shrunken core design. It was also likely created before the 1880s. The shrunken core is made of bold bands of red, blue, and white. What really makes it unique is its inner and outer designs. The inner part of the marble features spots of blue and red, while the outer part of the marble is covered in silver flecks of mica. This makes it look as if the marble is in the middle of a blizzard. Estimated value: $6,000 to $10,000
Large Mag Lite Indian Marble: $12,980 (2013) Indian swirl marbles are another type of handmade, German glass marbles that were made around the 1880s and feature an opaque, black glass background. This particular marble is a mag lite variety, meaning that when you shine it with a light, the black background actually appears red! It’s also thought to be a rare end-of-day marble, which means it was the last marble the glassmaker made that day using leftover glass. It features large strokes of red, yellow, turquoise, and white glass. Estimated value: $7,000 to $10,000
Onionskin Peacock Lutz Marble with Mica: $11,000 (2011) This rare and vintage handmade German glass marble is prized for its colorful peacock design and shimmering metallic flecks. The onionskin pattern features spots and lines of bright yellow, purple, pink, green, blue, orange, turquoise, and white. It’s also speckled with bits of coppery lutz pieces and silver mica flecks. Estimated value: $10,000 to $20,000
Onionskin Swirl Marble: $10,300 (2008) This is another antique and rare onionskin marble from before the 1880s that’s in near-perfect condition. It features swirls of colors rather than dots or flecks. It’s beautiful and bold, with bands of yellow, orange, blue, teal, black, and white glass whirling around the marble. Estimated value: $8,000 to $12,000
Precision Banded Indian Swirl Marble: $9,900 (2021) This bold and striking marble is another version of the Indian swirl marble, which was made by German glassmakers in the 1880s. It’s called the precision band design because the glassmakers meticulously swirled ribbons of glass around the black background so they lay neat and orderly. This stunning marble is in pristine condition and features orderly bands of blue, yellow, orange, and green.
Onionskin Blizzard Mica Marble: $9,775 (2009) As you might be able to tell, marbles with the onionskin design are a hot commodity among collectors! This one was made before the 1880s and features bold stripes of red, yellow, and green glass. Around the outside of the marble are floating specks of silver mica, giving it a blizzard-like design. Estimated value: $8,000 to $12,000
Large Onionskin Lutz Marble: $9,400 (2014) This grand onionskin lutz marble is as luxurious as it comes. It’s a large marble, coming in at 2 7/16 inches (6.2 cm) in diameter. The white base is striped with brilliant cobalt glass while the outside of the marble is speckled with large spots of coppery-gold lutz. It’s also in excellent condition, so it’s no surprise it sold for over $9k! Estimated value: $6,000 to $9,000
Indian Swirl Mag Lite Marble: $9,200 (2008) This is another gorgeous Indian swirl marble from the 1880s that glows another color when you shine it with a light. This particular marble is swirled with yellow, orange, white, silver, blue, and purple glass amid the bold, black background. It’s also in near mint condition. Estimated value: $4,000 to $6,000
Suspended Mica Marble: $9,000 (2008) This handmade, German glass marble from the mid-1800s screams luxury. It has a beautiful cobalt base that’s loaded with flecks of silver mica around the entire marble. It’s also in almost perfect condition, so it’s no surprise it sold for $9k! Estimated value: $4,000 to $6,000
Single Pontil Birdcage Marble: $7,600 (2012) This unique and striking handmade glass marble was made in China, likely in the early 1900s. It features an incredibly precise lattice pattern made with thin bands of blue, yellow, orange, green, and red glass that rests inside a bubble. Another small bubble is contained in the cage-like design. So, this marble is a masterclass in control! Estimated value: $3,000 to $5,000
End of Day Lobed Onionskin Marble: $7,300 (2010) Lobed onionskin marbles are one of the rarest versions of the onionskin design. The flat bands of colored glass are formed first and then encased with clear glass. This particular marble is believed to be an end-of-day design, so it features large ribbons of yellow and green glass that are speckled with orange and yellow. There are also flecks of silver mica sprinkled around the marble. Estimated value: $2,000 to $3,000
Double Figured Fish Sulphide Marble: $5,900 (2011) This may be one of the most unique marbles ever sold. Sulphide marbles are handmade, German glass marbles from the mid-1800s that feature a clear core with a silver sulphide figurine in the center. This particular marble is unique because it features 2 sulphide fish swimming through the center of the marble. Estimated value: $2,000 to $4,000
What makes a marble valuable?
Rarity Marbles that are harder to find are generally seen as more valuable to collectors. This includes rare designs, like end-of-day marbles that were made with leftover glass, and sulphide marbles that contain 2 figurines. Rare marbles can also be made out of unique materials, like uranium glass marbles that glow in the dark, and feature uncommon colors, like the pink opaque marbles.
Design Certain designs are more prized than others by collectors. For instance, lutz marbles, which are named after the German glassmaker Nicholas Lutz from the 1800s, contain flecks of copper inside. There are different types of lutz designs, like onionskin lutz, banded lutz, and mist lutz. Other valuable designs include: Onionskin: These marbles typically have a solid core color that’s covered with short, thin stripes or spots of different colored glass. Lutz, paneled, lobe, and mica blizzard varieties are some of the most valuable. Indian swirl: These marbles have a solid black core that’s covered with bands of colored glass. Some of the most valuable Indian swirl designs include mag lite (glows a different color under light), precision band (very neat), and 360 (the entire surface is covered with bands so no black shows). End-of-day: These marbles were made with leftover scraps of glass at the end of the day. The designs are always unique since they’re made from scraps, but they usually contain lots of different colored glass. Mica: These marbles are made from a clear glass core and contain pieces of mica, giving them a shimmery look. Marbles that contain lots of mica flecks, like “blizzard” designs, and colored mica, like yellow, red, and black, are considered more valuable. Sulphide: These glass marbles have a clear base and contain a figurine made from clay (though they were thought to be made from sulfur). The figurines are typically animals, people, or objects, like flowers. Marbles that contain 2 figurines are the most valuable.
Condition Marbles that are in great condition, or that don’t have many spots of damage like chips or cracks, are considered more valuable than marbles that show more wear. Most marbles are graded on their condition using the following scale values: 9.8 to 9.9: Wet-mint. These marbles have no visible damage and are as shiny as the day they were made. 9.4 to 9.7: Mint+. These marbles have little to no flaws, so they look like they were never used. 9.0 to 9.3: Mint-. These marbles have some small signs of wear, but are otherwise in excellent condition. 8.0 to 8.9: Near mint. These marbles have mild to moderate damage and clear signs of being used, like cracks, chips, scratches, and dullness. 7.0 to 7.9: Good. These marbles show significant signs of damage and wear, but still retain their beauty. 0 to 6.9: Collectable: These marbles are very damaged, well worn, and the designs may be significantly obscured. Higher values can still be worth something, but lower values probably are not.
Production In general, handmade marbles are considered more valuable than machine-made marbles. Glassblowing takes expertise, artistry, and time, which is why they’re often prized more than marbles made by machines. However, some machine-made marbles from the early 1900s can be quite valuable, too.
Age For the most part, the older a marble is, the more valuable it will be. The most prized marbles are usually the handmade glass marbles from Germany, which were made throughout the 1800s. The first machine-made marbles from the 1900s can sell for a lot, too. However, most marbles made after the 1930s aren’t considered very valuable. Marbles have been around since ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian times. Until the 1800s, they were mostly made out of clay. While very ancient clay marbles are rare and likely incredibly valuable, the most common ones you’ll see were made in Germany in the 1800s. Because these marbles aren’t very beautiful, they’re not typically worth much.
Size While most modern-day, machine-made marbles are around 16 mm (0.6 in) wide, antique, handmade marbles often vary in size. Very large glass marbles are often considered more valuable than small ones, as they were more difficult to make. This includes marbles around 2.5 inches (6.4 cm) wide and over.
How to Identify Valuable Marbles
Determine if the marble is hand or machine-made. Pontil points are the clearest signs that a marble is antique and handmade. These are distinct marks on a marble that indicate where it was detached from the glassblowing rod. Since manufactured marbles are made with a machine, they do not have these distinct marks. A pontil point can be ground/faceted, which has a gem-like mark; creased, which has a distinct line where the glass came together; or melted, which has a distorted or blurred appearance. Handmade marbles can have 1 or 2 pontil points.
Look at similar marbles to find out how old your marble is. The best way to tell how old your marble is (and how much it may be worth) is to get familiar with marble designs used in the 1800s and 1900s. For instance, several marble collecting websites provide identification guides for handmade and machine-made marbles, like MarbleCollecting.com and Marble Alan’s Identification Guide. Check these out to see if your marble looks similar to a valuable handmade or machine-made marble. For instance, if your marble has pontil points and you suspect it's handmade, there’s a very good chance it was made in the 1800s or early 1900s, which can make it pretty valuable.
Determine your marble’s design. Certain marble designs are more valuable than others, so look closely at the patterns and colors used in your marble. For instance, handmade German glass marbles with a lutz, onionskin, or sulphide design are generally considered valuable. Machine-made glass marbles with faces on them are very rare and can be worth a lot, too. Again, it’s a great idea to familiarize yourself with the different marble designs used throughout the 1800s and 1900s so you can quickly identify what kind of pattern your marbles have. Several marble sites provide free marble identification, like MarbleCollecting.com.
Examine the condition of your marble. The condition of your marble greatly affects its value, with mint and near-mint marbles that have very little damage being the most valuable. Inspect your marble closely to see if there are any visible chips, scratches, and dents. Also, check how clear the design appears. If there is a lot of wear and tear, your marble might not be worth much.
How to Sell Marbles
Get your marble appraised to see how much it's worth. If you think you have a valuable marble on your hands, it’s a good idea to get it appraised to see how much it could sell for. Several marble sites provide free appraisals, like BuyMarbles.com and MarbleCollecting.com. Or, check out a marble price guide, like Marbles Identification and Price Guide, to appraise your marbles yourself. Another great option is to check out auction sites, like Morphy Auctions, or eBay, to see what similar marbles are selling for.
Sell your marbles at an auction house or online. There are plenty of places to sell your marbles. For instance, you can consign them to an auction house like Morphy Auctions. Or, you can sell them to a marble collecting site like BuyMarbles.com or OldRareMarbles.com. Alternatively, sell them yourself by listing them on a site like eBay.
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