A shrunken core onionskin marble with colors of white, yellow, orange and blue soared to $36,285, and a scarce pink opaque lutz marble with red bands finished at $28,290 at a Premier Marbles auction held April 11 at Morphy Auctions flagship Denver, Pa., gallery. The best of the best in the booming hobby of marble collecting was on full display in the auction, which was packed with 478 quality lots. The wildly-colorful shrunken core onionskin marble boasted the perfect amount of floating mica to allow the core to be seen. It was expected to do well, having a high estimate of $30,000. But eager bidders pushed that to a final price of $36,285, making it the top lot of the auction. The marble, 2.25 inches in diameter and graded 9.7, showed a few as-made indentations, or hot spots. The rare pink opaque lutz marble with red bands also came into the sale with high expectations. It had a pre-sale estimate of $20,000 to $25,000, realizing $28,290. The 7/8-inch-diameter marble, graded 9.7, is very hard to find in the color combination it displayed, and collectors rewarded that with aggressive bidding. A hard-to-find, single-pontil end of day marble with heavy floating blizzard mica sold within estimate for $20,910. Measuring 2.25 inches in diameter with an early, faceted pontil and white base with blue and pink, the marble was graded 9.8 for condition. A stunning, deep four-lobed onionskin marble with a white base and a rainbow of colors, including turquoise, yellow, red and blue, realized $19,680, which was within estimate. The marble was 2 inches in diameter and graded 9.5. It had an early faceted pontil, and the surface showed two minor sub-surface reflections. A rare single-pontil end of day Josephs Coat swirl marble in colors of white, green, blue, yellow and red breezed past the $15,000 high estimate to settle at $17,835. Some of the colors in the 2-inch-diameter marble started at the bottom pontil and came back to the same pontil. The surface showed two micro-reflections and one as-made flat spot. One of the sleepers of the sale was a Peltier stained-glass box set advertising Robin Hood Shoes, very rare and the only one known. The set was said to have been given to a child after his or her parents bought shoes. The marbles contained therein averaged a grade of 9.5 and included five each of Ketchups and Mustards, Rebel, Superman, Christmas Tree and Liberty. The box, which exhibited some wear on the top edges, included a bag but was still graded very good. The set came into the auction with a $4,000 to $8,000 estimate but ended up selling for a robust $17,220. A large, Indian swirl marble having a black opaque base with opposing precision bands of light green, blue, orange and yellow blasted through the $7,000 high estimate to ring up $10,455. The marble was 1.625 inches in diameter and graded 9.75. Finding one in this size and condition is no easy trick, a fact that no doubt helped drive up the winning bid. A fine example of a sulphide marble with an encased standing, painted brown bear holding a log on a green glass base, sold for $6,150. That was a little more than the $6,000 high estimate. The surface displayed some minor scratching, and the condition grade was 9.2. Antique and vintage marbles arent just beautiful to look at and fun to play with, theyre also highly collectible and can be worth dizzying sums. Morphy Auctions, with its ear to the ground with regard to industry trends and hot collectibles, capitalized on the continued popularity of these unassuming little spheres with their Premier Marbles auction. More auctions are planned. Many collectors have fond memories of playing with marbles as kids, but in recent years, marbles as collectibles has grown, from examples handmade by German glassblowers of the 1800s to vintage marbles made by machine in the early 20th century by U.S. companies. For more information, email info@morphyauctions.com or visit www.morphyauctions.com. All images courtesy of Morphy Auctions.