Collecting Marbles

Marbles were once just a child's game. Now they are quickly becoming a hot collector item, not just as a hobby but as an investment.

A Brief History of Marbles

These little round toys have been crafted for thousands of years in many countries around the world. Some of the first marbles were made of stone and were found around Rome and Ancient Egypt.

China and Crockery marbles were first introducted around 1800.

Some of the first glass marbles were created in Venice in very small quantities until a German glassblower invented a tool known as the "marble scissors" in 1846. This tool allowed glass makers to create marbles in large enough quantities to offer to the general public. These marbles had a very large variety of colors and patterns like the Latticino.

Though clay marbles had been around for thousands of years, they did not start being produced in bulk until the late 1800's in both Europe and the Americas.

When 1890's came around, the first machines for manufacturing glass marbles were introducted, allowing companies to produce these colorful glass gems in bulk.

The companies

In the USA, during the first half of the 20th century marbles became very popular...some would say overly popular. Many companies were formed and marbles quickly flooded the market. These companies had their own "trademark" designs, some of which are easily recognisable.

A couple of the highly recognized companies -

Akro Agate Company - Formed in 1910 in Akro, Ohio this company manufactured many types of marbles popular with collectors. Including oxbloods, corkscrews and many more. The Akro Agate Company is also credited with producing the great majority of vintage slags. This company was the largest US marble manufacturer throughout most of their existance.

Peltier Glass Co. - This company was formed in 1886 by Victor Peltier under the name The Novelty Glass Company. This name was changed to The Peltier Glass Company in 1919 and is located in Ottawa, IL. Peltier began making marbles in the 1920's and is still in operation, but no longer produces marbles.

I'm interested but where do I start?

For someone interested in starting out, these colorful pieces of glass, clay, stone, wood or steel can be really confusing.

What type is it?

Who made it?

And how old is it?

These are just three questions you might be thinking of when you're looking at a pile of marbles.

My first suggestion is - do your homework and lots of it(That's what you're doing now right?)! Read books, articles, and visit sites that sell marbles. Get a feel for the prices and what marbles interest collectors more than others.
Though you may be really interested in starting an investment collection, you need to know what you're getting into. The more homework you do, the better you'll be able to identify that possible fake. In turn possibly saving you hundreds of your hard earned dollars!

A site that could help you keep track of the current price of marbles is iCollectMarbles.com. This site will allow you to find marbles by maker or type.