Marble Pictures and Prices for Collectors

Marbles are simply little spherical balls used by children and adults to play a range of games. 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. Affordable glass marbles were first made in the 19th century when a special pair of scissors that could cut molten glass was invented by a German Glassblower.

Marbles have always been popular. In fact, according to the National Toy Hall of Fame, even Shakespeare mentioned marbles in his play the "Twelfth Night." Marbles also have an entire slang language built around them. Aggies, for example, are marbles made of agate while some alleys are made of alabaster. Over the years, increasingly intricate and beautiful marbles have become available; as a result, collectors have become interested in finding rare or interesting examples.

Although marbles can be affordable for all collector budgets, avid collectors know that prices can range into the thousands of dollars. Note that unscrupulous dealers have been known to reproduce marbles and sell them as old or antique. Judith Miller in Buy, Keep or Sell? suggests looking for solitaire boards, avoiding marbles such as Cat's Eyes that were mass-produced after the 1960s, and look for the original packaging.

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Onion Skin Blizzard Marble

This "blizzard" onionskin type with suspended bits of mica was the top-selling marble in the Morphy Auction, March 2009 sale.

Size: 2 1/6"
Condition: 9.6
Auction House: Morphy Auctions
Sale Date: March 2009
Sold Price: $9,775*

*Includes 17% Buyers Premium

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Onion Skin Mica Marble

This rare 4-panel onionskin type with suspended bits of mica was a top-selling marble in the Morphy Auction, March 2009 sale.

Size: 1 19/32"
Condition: 9.7
Auction House: Morphy Auctions
Sale Date: March 2009
Sold Price: $2,632.50 *

*Includes 17% Buyers Premium

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Solid Core Marble

White solid core with dark maroon bands. Original surface.

Size: 1 9/16"
Condition: 9.8
Auction House: Morphy Auctions
Sale Date: March 2009
Sold Price: $263.25 *

*Includes 17% Buyers Premium

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Sulphide Frog Marble

Size: 1 3/4"
Condition: 9.7, original surface
Auction House: Morphy Auctions
Sale Date: March 2009
Pre-auction Estimate: $200 - $300
Sold Price: $526.50 *

*Includes 17% Buyers Premium

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Christensen Agate Banded Transparent Marble

Size: 5/8"
Auction House: Morphy Auctions
Sale Date: March 2009
Pre-auction Estimate: $150.00 - 250.00
Sold Price: 760.50*

*Includes 17% Buyers Premium

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Machine-Made Swirl Marbles

Lot of 25, possibly made by Akro Agate Company.

Size: Largest 5/8"
Condition: Near Mint Plus
Auction House: Morphy Auctions
Sale Date: March 2009
Pre-auction Estimate: $50.-$100.
Sold Price: $58.50 *

*Includes 17% Buyers Premium

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Christensen Agate Swirl Marble

Size: 5/8"
Auction House: Morphy Auctions
Sale Date: March 2009
Pre-auction Estimate: $100.-$200.
Sold Price: $351.*

*Includes 17% Buyers Premium

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Black and White Navarre Marble

Size: 1 1/2"
Condition: 9.6
Auction House: Morphy Auctions
Sale Date: March 2009
Pre-auction Estimate: $2,000. - 3,000.
Sold Price: $1638.00 *

*Includes 17% Buyers Premium

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Boxed Marble Games

Includes two Solitaire boards and one standard marble game. One of the Solitaire marble boards comes with common, solid opaque marbles and other comes in original box with no marbles.

Condition: Excellent Plus
Auction House: Morphy Auctions
Sale Date: March 2009
Pre-auction Estimate: $50. - 150.
Sold Price: $87.75 *

*Includes 17% Buyers Premium

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Assortment of Oxblood Marbles

Lot includes approximately 56 marbles.

Size: Largest - 23/16"
Condition: Near Mint Plus
Auction House: Morphy Auctions
Sale Date: March 2009
Pre-auction Estimate: $200. - 300.
Sold Price: $292.50 *

*Includes 17% Buyers Premium

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End of Day Onion Skin Marble

Size: 2 2/5"
Condition: Excellent (minor surface scratches)
Auction House: Morphy Auctions
Sale Date: Sept. 2008
Pre-Auction Estimate: $1500-$2000
Sold Price: $2070*

*Includes 15% Buyers Premium

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Two-sided Sulphide Marble

Condition: 9.5, Original Surface
Size: 1 25/32"
Auction House: Morphy Auctions
Sale Date: Sept. 2008
Pre-Auction Estimate: $800-$1200
Sold Price: $517.50*

*Includes 15% Buyers Premium

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Ribbon Core Swirl Marble

Condition: 9.6
Size: 13/16"
Auction House: Morphy Auctions
Sale Date: Sept. 2008
Pre-Auction Estimate: $100-$200
Sold Price: $402.50*

*Includes 15% Buyers Premium

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Marble Boxes

Condition: Excellent
Auction House: Morphy Auctions
Sale Date: Sept. 2008
Pre-Auction Estimate: $100-$200
Sold Price: $287.50*

*Includes 15% Buyers Premium

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Marble King Marbles w/Original Box

Condition: Near Mint Plus
Auction House: Morphy Auctions
Sale Date: Sept. 2008
Pre-Auction Estimate: $200-$300
Sold Price: $258.75*

*Includes 15% Buyers Premium

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Onionskin Swirl Marble

Date: September 2008
Size: 2 1/8"
Sold Price: $10,350*

*Includes 15% Buyers Premium

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Indian Mag Lite Marble

Condition was king across the board in Morphy's $2.6 million Spring Toy Auction. Along with superb American toys and folk art, the top selling toy was a spectacular circa-1885 William Demuth & Co. smoking Punch cigar advertising figure.

Indian Mag Lite Marble
Deep cobalt blue with strong outer bands of yellow, blue, white, purple, green and orange.
Size: 1 9/16"
Condition: Near Perfect
Sale Date: April 4-5, 2008
Pre-Auction Estimate: $4,000 - $6,000
Auction Price: $9,200*

Source: Morphy's Auctions

*Includes 15% Buyers Premium

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Two Blue Marbles

1 5/8" Cobalt and White Swirl Marble[br] Estimated $300 - $600[br] Sold for $130
3/4" Black and Blue Marble[br] Estimated $20 - $40[br] Sold for $40

Marbles are part of a wide variety (865 Lots) of toys, trains, die-cast vehicles and figures that was auctioned Live on eBay October 26, 2003. This is from a sampling of items that were auctioned by Apple Tree Auction Center. Prices shown are the completed auctions, along with the price estimates from the auction house.

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Single Pontil Birdcage Marble

Auction House: Morphy Auctions
Size: 1 9/16"
Condition: 9.7
Estimated: $3000 - $5000
Auction Price: $7800.
May 2012