From the late 1500s through the early 1700s salt glazed stoneware marbles were made first by the dutch and then later by the germans.
China marbles value.
Most commonly they are about 13 mm 1 2 in in diameter but they may range from less than 1 mm 1 30 in to over 8 cm 3 in while some art glass marbles for display purposes are over 30 cm 12 in wide marbles can be used for a variety of games called marbles.
There are a number of types of non glass marbles that collectors seek out.
Companies like christensen peltier glass akro agate and vitro agate.
Most chinas are painted.
Clay marbles were first made in america in 1884 by the akron toy company.
This produces a much heavier marble for the size than a clay or crockery marble.
Below are examples of some new marbles.
Not all marbles are glass so recognize crockery benningtons stoneware china agates and even wooden marbles.
Look for marbles with four colors and clear divisions between the colors.
The knowledge of rarity and value is what builds a quality marble collection.
China marbles are marbles that are made with a very dense white clay and then fired at a very high temperature.
Most marbles however are manufactured in mexico and china.
Before glass marbles became common antique toy marbles were made from ceramics including clay stoneware and china or porcelain.
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.
Glass marbles are handmade or machine made and may be old sulphides with figurines in the center or may be imports from mexico or china.
Some of the decorations can be quite intricate.
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.
Sammys runs click on image for larger size vacor mega.
Find multi colored marbles with clear distinctive lines.
Also check for marbles that are pleasing to the artistic eye.
A collector is more likely to find value in machine made marbles that are opaque too.
Marbles have been made from non glass materials such as wood clay and stone for hundreds if not thousands of years.
While these are all very colorful and beautiful marbles they hold no particular value to collectors other than current face value.
Vintage marble prices and value often relate to artistic merit.
Most of these are 10 cents to 50 cents each.
This section discusses these types and offers an image identification library.