Did you play marbles?

When did kids quit playing with marbles? I am packing for a move next month and ran across an old bag with hundreds of marbles in it, that I had forgotten I even had. They are at least 40 years old, some quite older. I haven't seen kids playing with these things for many years. Do kids anywhere still use them, or are they a victim of the digital age? I wonder if they are collectible or worth anything. Does anyone know anything about these bad boys?

I think kids are very caught up with digital age these days with all the video games and internet. I'm not even old, but I played with marbles when I was a kid ... I even collected them.

Lightmeup said:

When did kids quit playing with marbles? I am packing for a move next month and ran across an old bag with hundreds of marbles in it, that I had forgotten I even had. They are at least 40 years old, some quite older. I haven't seen kids playing with these things for many years. Do kids anywhere still use them, or are they a victim of the digital age? I wonder if they are collectible or worth anything. Does anyone know anything about these bad boys?

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Yes, I played marbles. I have a small box of them in the attic somewhere. Maybe 1-200 or more. ? It's been awhile since I've seen them. Some cats-eye, some puries, as well as the more common solid type. And a few boulders too, I think!

I used to collect them...now I collect flashligts:devil:

I remember playing with marbles Unfortunately the ones I didn't lose to friends usually ended up rolling into some dark corner of the playground never to be seen again.

Regards,
Tempest

Did someone say marbles?

Sorry, I got so caught up in marble madness I forgot to address the OP. The short answer as to whether they are highly sought after collectibles is pretty simple. Maybe. You might have some treasures hiding in the pile and you might have a bunch of junk. The thing that makes it tricky is it's difficult to tell if you don't know what you're looking at. Can you post pics of the collection? If you PM me, I can put you in touch with someone who can tell you definitively. I have a little cursory knowledge of vintage marbles, but I don't really collect them, so it IS cursory.

Lightmeup said:

Re: Did you play marbles?

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Until I lost all of mine...


But on that note, thank you for bringing the memory of my cat's eyes, agates, steelees, boulders and clearies back. As a kid I also had some antique marbles that were ceramic, glazed fired clay and apparently were hand rolled as they were slightly out of round in some cases. The steelees, a ball bearing of some dimension, was the "magnum" shooter of the contests and usually was banded. Grandmothers made embroidered marble bags that were treasured too.

souptree said:

Sorry, I got so caught up in marble madness I forgot to address the OP. The short answer as to whether they are highly sought after collectibles is pretty simple. Maybe. You might have some treasures hiding in the pile and you might have a bunch of junk. The thing that makes it tricky is it's difficult to tell if you don't know what you're looking at. Can you post pics of the collection? If you PM me, I can put you in touch with someone who can tell you definitively. I have a little cursory knowledge of vintage marbles, but I don't really collect them, so it IS cursory.

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Those are some real beauties in your photos. Upon closer inspection, I don't have hundreds, I have thousands of them. I am sure most of them are "commons", but there are quite a few obviously antique and special-looking ones too. Unfortunately, I'm moving soon and my cam is packed up. Please PM your contact's info so I can get to him with a few questions. Thanks.
Tom

I still see kids around here play marbles, not as many as I remember seeing when I was a kid with a pocket full of marbles myself tho.

Pretty funny this thread comes up now. I was recently thinking I should challenge some of the neighbourhood to a little contest to see whats left of my 'mad marbles skillz'... but then I got a crazy idea... Can't get into details yet, but it's called the 'Society of Worldwide Adult Marble Players' or S.W.A.M.P. for short, and it would be an underground organisation.... think fightclub, but instead of beating eachother up, contestants would play marbles. And if the idea doesn't really get as popular as I hope it will be, at least it'll make a half decent plot for an animated series

souptree, your narbles are beautiful

never seen anything like that....maybe in "M.I.B."

FILIPPO said:

never seen anything like that....maybe in "M.I.B."

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The second one in post #6 made me think of that

Regards,
Tempest

I played although I can't remember any of the various games or rules. As kids we always had some in our pockets. We used to get bags of them at the local candy store. Now you don't see them anywhere. :mecry:

Kids today are involved in more electronic play than in my day. It was rare to have a battery-operated toy. If not marbles, a 5-cent balsa wood glider did the trick.

Used to find a lot of marbles in the yard of the house I lived at as a kid. Found a total of about 17 old marbles when digging up the vegetable patch etc., still have them to this day. As a result of finding these old lost marbles (pardon the pun) I started to play. Bought a few bags of modern marbles too. Played indoors on rainy days on the hardwood floors. This was literally yesterday in the 80's.

I don't worry too much about the (highly culturally destructive) digital distractions of today. I view it all as a temporary blip on the radar screen of human experience. Kinda feel it's a Mad Max future out there if you know what I mean… things will balance out :naughty:

Uncle Bob said:

If not marbles, a 5-cent balsa wood glider did the trick.

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Ahh, good times :thumbsup:

Regards,
Tempest

I used to love my agate marblesI doubt they are worth much today. I used to get 'em whil in utah with my grand parents.
Agates used to shatter once in a while. It was allways gratifying to whack a opponent's beautiful prize agate with a solid and smash it into a million peices. Hey marbles is a tough sport.
If you are looking for a way to get rid of your old marbles I wouldn't mind taking them off your hands. PM me if you want to get rid of them.
Yaesumofo

I remember those bumbuchas! Always my go to marbles. Of course there were times we would use ball bearings. . .Ahhh, fond memories of long gone yesteryear. . .

FILIPPO said:

souptree, your narbles are beautiful

never seen anything like that....maybe in "M.I.B."

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Is "M.I.B." that Will Smith movie? I never saw it. Can you tell me what you are referring to?

Here are a few more pics of that marble.

A few more. The third one has an opal in it.