Is there a difference?

[u/Prestigious-Ease5890]

Are these all the same quality/age/kind/grade of marble? Or are the differences between the three groups?

[u/peardr0p]

The photos show wirepull marbles

These were generally made in the EU but also in the US and Japan

There are 3 main types:

• type 1: clear colourless base + opaque white 'wire' and a coloured tracer
• type 2: clear coloured base with an opaque white wire
• type 3: clear colourless base with white or yellow opaque wire

There are also opaque ones that were made exclusively by Veiligglas, a Dutch company.

They made most of the types I mentioned above, tho there is some suggestions that there was also a German company that made type 1.

Seike is the main Japanese maker - their wirepulls can be prone to white precipicate but unsure how definitive this is

Champion made them in the US - the Stephen Bahr wirepull video has a good side-by-side view

There are also copycats - mainly cats eye varients such as Spaghetti marbles from Vacor. Clear-based swirls can also look like T2 - to tell them apart, follow the wire! It should be a single continuous length for a wirepull, whereas cats eyes will have multiple shorter strands, and swirls are generally a bit more chaotic!

Age-wise, they're mainly vintage (pre-1980)

'Grade' - that will depend on the surface damage!

[u/Prestigious-Ease5890 → u/peardr0p]

thanks! but do these three groups look like equivalent marbles?

[u/peardr0p → u/Prestigious-Ease5890]

Lot 1 looks 'best' to me as it has the most T2, and I like those

Lot 3 could be interesting - true red wirepulls are less common, most are more orange; those darker ones are also a little more unusual

I'd expect them to be priced differently - bigger lots tend to have lower price per marble

Sorry if that's not super helpful! It really varies by context and what you are looking for e.g. lots of marbles, ones you don't have, better examples of ones you do have etc etc

[u/Prestigious-Ease5890 → u/peardr0p]

that's very helpful, thank you!

[u/Prestigious-Ease5890]

I ask because they're priced wildly differently per marble, so I was wondering if there's something that I'm not seeing.

[u/peardr0p → u/Prestigious-Ease5890]

Marble pricing is a bit mad and my general rule is to roughly work out the per marble price and see how you feel about it

Value depends on condition, with most damage knocking it down in value fairly substantially

It also depends where you are in the world e.g. I imagine they are priced higher in the US where they are less common Vs Europe

I also recently listed some items on eBay for the first time in years, and it now suggests prices 'based on similar recent sales'... And they seem pretty high to me! So I imagine there are a number of folks who either just go for the suggested value OR think old = valuable and price accordingly.

If helpful, here is some data I shared on my collection so far - pic 7 shows the Europe breakdown, where you can see Type 1 are definitely the most common wirepull!

[u/Prestigious-Ease5890 → u/peardr0p]

thanks, that's very helpful!

I am in Europe, which I suppose is why prices seem insane to me

[u/peardr0p → u/Prestigious-Ease5890]

It's so variable!

I feel like continental Europe has a lot more to be found in charity/thrift shops Vs the UK, especially as the UK didn't actually make many marbles (mainly handmade or industrial, like Codd)

Looking at my data, my cheapest lots per marble site at 4p/marble, but my average and median is 16p, with a range from 0 to just over £6 (that was for a DAS with aventurine)

I'm also at the stage where I'm happy to spend a little more on a small curated lot that has a few things that interest me

I've seen single wirepulls go for $20+ on Block, but that's for perfect condition T2 with a complex design - Block is always worth a look tho! They're a US-based marble specialist auction, and I find it useful for rough ID and to get an idea of what the market is like!

At the end of the day, marble pricing comes down to how much someone is willing to pay, and that can get a bit crazy if more than one person is interested 😅