Identify Handmade Marbles

To determine if they were handmade look for the pontil mark to determine how they were created.

Identify handmade marbles.

Look for the pontil most vintage marbles were made by hand through the process called glassblowing. Almost all handmade glass marbles are cane cut type marbles. This is the rough spot at the bottom pole of the marble where it was sheared off its glass cane or a punty. Sulphide marbles which feature animals and other figures inside clear glass are very rare as they have not been produced for around 100 years rarer still are those featuring human figures.

Monochromatic solid colored marbles belong in a class by themselves because they are not swirls having no design. All handmade glass marbles have at least one pontil. What i m trying to figure out is how distinct is the cut off mark on handmade marbles how it varies. Affordable glass marbles were first made in the 19th century when a special pair of scissors that.

However this flaw was the distinguishing feature in recognizing antique marbles. Marbles are simply little spherical balls used by children and adults to play a range of games. Handmade marbles are generally classified as either cane cut sometimes called rod cut or as single gather. Many solid colored hand made marbles have single pontils though most will evince two pontils.

But a few may be handmade. Separate marbles into groups of hand made or machine made. Bubbles were created as a result of blowing into the round blob of molten glass which was considered a flaw. Here are some ways to determine if a marble is vintage or not.

Recently started sorting through some marbles my 93 year grandmother left me. Sulphide handmade this type is for many collectors the holy grail. Value is only assigned by what another collector pays for a particular piece. In fact a sulphide marble featuring teddy roosevelt sold for 4 500 in a 2011 sale.

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. Avid collectors regularly study realized. A pontil is a rough mark on a handmade marble which was caused when the marble was cut off of the cane the glass rod they were formed on. The marble finish is not as fine in a glassblowing technique than that produced from a machine.

Feb 24 2013 marbles have been valued by collectors for nearly 100 years. Older handmade marbles can be discerned by this unique feature. They are composed of one color either opaque transparent or translucent. Collectors must quickly identify a vintage marble recognize its manufacturer spot any flaws and have an in depth knowledge of the market.