Marbles of Value
- Marbles are a highly collectible
- Marble collectors are looking for antique, handmade marbles
- Of these, the Lutz varieties are the most desirable
- Types of Lutz Marbles
- Banded Lutz
- Onionskin Lutz
- Ribbon Lutz
- Indian Lutz & Mist Lutz
Christensen Agate Co. Guinea Marbles
According to Robert Block’s Identification & Price Guide, “ ’The world’s Best Guineas’ are transparent based marble with colored flecks of glass melted and stretched across the surface.”
The value of a Guinea is affected by the number of colors on the surface and the intricacy of the pattern.
What to Look For
- All Handmade Marbles have at least one, or a combination of one, of several different Pontils
- Pontil – The point on a piece of glass, or marble in this case, where the piece was broken off the piece of glass cane (rod) or punty from which it was formed.
- Pontils are either Ground, Rough, Folded (melted with creases) or Pinpoint.
- Almost all marbles are cane-cut marbles – sheared off the end of a long cane which contains the design of the marbles and then is rounded.
Okay, So I have a Ground Pontil…Now What?
- If you find marbles with one of more of these pontil features that may indicate it is hand made and, most probably antique, you can then determine the specific type and or coloring / design.
- Of which there are a few, to say the least. And determining which specific design a marble is can be, for the layman and novice, tricky.
- Within each of these classifications there are several other factors that will determine the value of a marble.
- Whether it was an “End of Cane” marble
- The base color of the marble
- The core color
- Mica, Copper and Gold Flecks included in the marble
