The Story of a Rare Antique Marble

Sometime during the 1800s... a marble is made by hand in Germany, using colored veins of glass to make a candy striped core in the middle, adding silver flecks of Mica here and there, adding layers and layers of clear glass, mixed with eight tiny latticing swirls towards the outside, with yet more clear glass added on, until it's a whopper of a marble by anyone's standards... over three inches in diameter!

It wasn't bought by a child though, I'm 100% certain this was a man's gaming marble, or bought for display only. At some point it was used by a man as a gambling marble, shooting with other men towards walls to see who could get the closest, or knock the other marbles away. This was how it was done then from my understanding. It suffered a great deal of damage, pock marks 1/2 inch thick, tiny cracks just below the surface. The damage is so bad then, you can't even see inside.

At this point, it goes through a mystery phase, where it's stored for 80 years, only the glass itself knows, and it ain't talking. The marble ends up at an estate auction in Oklahoma City...bought by a man in Crescent, Oklahoma for his antique shop...where it sets on a glass shelf for five years, damaged and unclear.

In walks an 8-year-old boy looking for marbles for his mom. The owner of the antique shop was amused and told him to go home and get some "trading material." The boy goes home to his dad's house (mom and dad are divorced), and gathers his comic books. Excited, he runs back to the shop a block away. The man trades him about ten comic books for the $5 marble. Still damaged and unclear, the boy couldn't even see the core because of all the damage, but surely mom would like it for her collection of vintage marbles.

A cousin is giving a ride to the boy, back home to his mother's house.... The cousin being an antique dealer began bartering with the boy for the marble, unscrupulous yes, but where antiques are concerned, it's dog eat dog in his world. He continues to up the offer, $3.... $4..... $5.... finally, the boy gives in, and stuffs the $5 bill in his pocket, then hands the marble over to the man.

When they reached the mothers house "Oh I had a marble for you mom, but HE bought it"....

"What?!"...."Yeah... I traded comic books for it, for you".... the cousin breaks in with a nervous laugh..."Oh that old marble, it's not nice enough for your collection"

"I don't care... He got it for me! and you swindled it out of him before ya even got here!!!" the mother was furious. The boy got the $5 out and showed her, she got her purse and gave the Cousin the $5, "Now I want my marble back!!!" Both the boy and cousin were shocked. The cousin slowly hands her the marble from his pocket.

She takes her marble, and knows it's reached a home where it's loved and appreciated for its historic value. She has the marble for a few months, until she could see a dealer friend of hers. He knows where to send the marble to have it "turned" ... which will polish the glass down a 1/2" as directed...she sends it. A phone call is made....

"A Half inch isn't enough to get all the pock marks out, we have to take is smaller"...

" Okay, do what you have to do".

Knowing the marble could be cracked beyond repair, she let go of the idea of having a huge marble for her collection, but loved that she would have one, her son had sacrificed for".

Finally after weeks of waiting, a phone call came....

"Well we polished it down, and we'd like to make an offer of $500 for it...its not perfect by any means, but worth $500. "

The mother thought about it. "Ya mean sell it before I even get to see it?, I can't do that.... I have to see inside!"

The mother waited two more weeks before they shipped it back; they insured it for $1000. Hmmmm... She opened the box and found a 2.25" marble inside....for the first time ever she is able to see inside the marble and see the colors, the silver flakes, the latticing swirls.... its stunning. Just below the surface in one spot are two tiny chips inside... she smiles, knowing the marble will always carry some of its history with it. Knowing her son sacrificed for it, but still she gets it appraised by a friend.... unknown to her, he collects marbles too, and offers her $1500 for it.

"No....... it's priceless to me"

The mother in the story is me... my son never missed his comic books or never let on that he did. The marble was used to educate dealers about marbles, used in a marble shows, and even made the newspaper! Now... my grandson has just begun to appreciate my marbles. Even though he is 7, I've told him they are his someday, and to never sell the BIG ONE. He knows the story of his daddy trading for it, he knows how much grandma loves that one, and he's developing a healthy respect for antiques in the process.

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