The first known glass 'cane' style marbles were made in Germany in 1846. The method begins with producing a cane, or rod of glass with incorporated colors and designs. The canes were then used to form the marbles by heating/melting the glass at the end of the cane and forming it round before detaching it from the cane. This process leaves the inherent 'pontil' marks at opposing ends of the marbles. An exception would be the first marble off the cane, which would only have one detachment point, leaving only one pontil. They are often described as 'End of cane' and will often lack the entire color and design, as the cane production design didn't always make it to the tip of the cane. These end of cane types are fewer in numbers not only by design, but also due to the likelihood many were discarded. The method of glass cane made marbles continued in Europe until the advent of mechanization in the dawn of the 20th century. New, Transitional marbles, and shortly afterward, fully automated machine-made marbles became a more expeditious and economical means to produce and distribute them to the growing demand of children everywhere. This change places these cane style antiquities in a relatively short chapter of marble history, leaving them not only much rarer than their modern successors, but highly sought after for their unique beauty and style.

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