Marbles

Marble sizes

Marbles can vary greatly in size. Below are the typical size classifications used by marble game players and collectors. Usually marble sizes are described in fractions of an inch, but decimal inches or mm may be used in online listings.

Pewee: A pewee marble is less than 1/2 inch (<0.50 inch, <12.7 mm).
Some marbles were intentionally made in peewee size, but in many cases, they were a rare size variant in the distribution of marbles made. These latter marbles often bring a strong price premium. There are 170-190 peewees per pound.

Game Marble: Game marbles are 9/16 to 11/16 inch (0.56 to 0.69 inch, 14.3 to 17.5 mm).
Chinese checkers and board game marbles tend to be closer to 9/16. This is also the typical size of modern florist or decorator marbles. The most common size vintage game marble is 5/8 inch (0.63 in, 15.9 mm). In the traditional marbles game, these game-size marbles that are placed in the ring may be referred to as targets, commies, alleys, mibs, or duckies depending upon the region or time period. There are 80 to 90 5/8 inch marble per pound, and 100 to 120 9/16 inch marble per pound.

Shooter Marble: A shooter marble is one equal to or greater than 3/4 inch (0.75, 19.1 mm).
Shooters are sometimes called taws or boss marbles depending on the region. Vintage shooters are typically 3/4 inch to 7/8 inch (0.875 inch), but may be found to 1 inch (25.4 mm) or rarely larger. Official marble tournament shooters must be 3/4 inch. Marbles 1 inch or greater are also called boulders or bowlers. There are 50 to 55 3/4 inch shooters per pound.

Grading Marbles

Below is the descriptive and numeric grading system adopted by Marble Collectors Society of America ( P.O. Box 222, Trumbull CT 06611). It is the system of grading adopted by most marble dealers and the grading used on our website.

Mint: A marble that is in original condition. The surface is unmarked and undamaged. There may be some minor rubbing on the surface, however, the marble is/ just the way it came from the factory. (10.0-9.0)

Near Mint: A marble that has seen minor usage. There may be evidence of some hit marks, usually tiny subsurface moons, pinprick chips, tiny flakes or tiny bruises. The damage is inconsequential and does not detract from viewing the marble. (8.9-8.0)

Good: A marble that has seen usage. It will have numerous hit marks, subsurface moons, chips, flakes or bruises. The core can still be seen clearly, but the marble has obviously been used. (7.9-7.0).

Collectible: A marble that has seen significant usage. Overall moons, chips, flakes and bruises. The core is completely obscured in some spots. A Collectible marble has served its purpose and been well used. (6.9-0.0).

Other marble collector terms in common usage and used here

Fleabite: A pit-like hit mark mostly visible under 10x magnification.
Tick: A pit-like hit just comfortably visible to the naked eye.
Chip: Loss of glass from impacts easily noticeable with casual observation.
Sparkle: a tiny internal reflection resulting from a bang to the marble.
Moon: An internal reflection visible with the naked eye as a circular or ringlike area resulting from a hard hit to the marble.
Stress Fracture: An as-made fracture in the marble that typically results from uneven cooling of different types of glass in the marble.