MUSCATINE, Iowa — Anyone who’s ever played marbles likely remembers the sound of a big swirled shooter crashing into a row of cat’s eyes.

Muscatine’s Jerry McKenzie was never an avid marble player, but a collection he started about 12 years ago has scored him some cash, and the satisfaction of collecting pieces of the game’s past.

He and his wife Kim often go to flea markets, and that’s where he gained interest in marble collecting.

“The condition is everything. If the marbles were used a lot they’re full of nicks and flaws,” McKenzie said.

He buys, sells and trades marbles and often changes his preference on what he’ll collect next — but he could never pick a favorite.

“When I look at all the types I have and how beautiful they are, I fall in love with them all,” he said.

His most prized marbles are in a lighted display case that shows off their shiny, smooth beauty. Though he has thousands, many are packed away or used to fill the antique hollow glass rolling pins that’

he’s collected.

“I like the newer, contemporary marbles — they’re so much prettier — but he likes the older ones,” Kim McKenzie said of her husband. “We have a lot of collectibles, but the money’s in the marbles.”

McKenzie said he once paid $80 for three swirl marbles, an onion skin and two small goose berries, at the Amana Colonies marble show. He ended up selling the three of them for $800.

When it comes to colors, designs and styles, there are literally thousands of types of collectable marbles. They are distinguished by certain swirl patterns, color schemes, marks or designs.

There are opaque, clearies, sparkles, tiger eyes, bananas, bloodies, patches, rainbow and sunsets, to name just a few.

In the 1870s, the peppermint marble, which got its name from red and white colored stripes, was popular.

By the 1920s, marbles with swirls and splotches of the color, Oxblood (dark, blood red), were popular.

Long ribbons and tri-colored patches became popular in the 1950s.

The spotty marble was all the rage in the marble world during the 1980s, with flecks of colors or spots.

These days, marbles are known for their artistry, color, beauty and perfection. They can hold a series of lines or swirls, and even an image of an intricate design, scene or picture. Though many older marbles had similar characteristics, today’s technology and tools have made creating a marble masterpiece much easier.

Marbles were stone ground by hand for thousands of years, which was a lot of work for a children’s toy. Around the turn of the century, machinery and marbles finally met when the first automated marble-making machine was patented. Today, the process is largely automated, though there are those in the fine arts world who make marbles by hand.

Crockery and china marbles were introduced around 1800. Glass marbles were made prior to that, but didn’t gain popularity until around 1846. Clay marbles began to be produced in bulk around 1870.

McKenzie can often identify the maker or era of older marbles by looks alone. To tell if they are worth anything, he must know about the collectability and the condition, which he examines with a flashlight and magnifying glass.

He has peewee marbles a half-inch in size or smaller, up to shooter size, about 1½ inches wide.

“The larger they are and the clarity makes them more valuable,” he said.

One of the oldest in his collection is a crockery marble made of porcelain from the 1850s.

He also owns what’s considered a transitional marble attributed to James H. Leighton, who invented a process of partially handmade and partially machine-made marbles in the late 1800s. Leighton is referred to by many researchers as “the father of the American glass marble.”

His collection also includes  a small striped lutz in flawless condition worth about $100 and some Arco Agate brand corkscrews. 

Some marbles have logos, or once served as an award, such as the Boy Scout marbles he has on display from the 1940s in their original casing.

He held up a marble with a common swirl and pointed to a small mark where the glass had been twisted and cut.

“Do you see how that looks like the number nine?” He asked. “That was a trademark of M.F. Christensen’s slag marble. You can tell a lot about who manufactures them and the method they used by looking at them. This one’s worth about $50.”

The nine pattern is something you’ll usually see only with the slag marble, McKenzie added. Leighton’s transitional method is what makes the defined number 9, and marbles with the pattern are generically termed “Leighton transitionals.”

M.F. Christensen and Son Co. invented and patented its own glass marble-making machine in 1902. Leighton was a consultant for the M.F. Christensen and Son Co.

McKenzie is a member of the Marble Collector’s Society of America. He said he can appraise marbles for people but that more often than not, the marbles that acquaintances bring to him are worthless. He said the popular cat’s eye of the 1970s is not very collectible. People must also remember, he added, that condition counts.

McKenzie also has a collection of books on marbles, old marble boxes from the factories, marble jewelry, Chinese checkers game boards, a marble ballot box that was once used to track votes and even a razor blade sharpener made with marbles and wire.

He works for the City of Muscatine’s maintenance department and said some of the guys used to josh him about his unusual collection until one day a coworker brought a bag in for appraisal.

“They didn’t laugh so much after I bought some marbles from him,” McKenzie said. “The others brought in their bags of old marbles, too, but they had nothing of value. I find that is often the case.”

McKenzie said it’s often difficult to find information about marbles and you have to know the right places to look.

If you have a serious inquiry about marbles in your collection or think you might have a marbles that are valuable and need an opinion feel free to call Jerry McKenzie at 563-263-7756.

Reporter contact information

Melissa Regennitter: 563-262-0526

or mregennitter@muscatinejournal.com