People who collect vintage dolls often specialize in one type of doll or another. 


One of the more popular dolls collected today is the vintage Barbie doll.  Honestly, vintage Barbie dolls have a very strong following of extremely savvy collectors who really know there stuff.   There are quite a few very detailed guides available for serious Barbie collectors who wish to know the exact value of the dolls they own.  These guides are a wise investment for serious collectors as they will include very specific information such as mold numbers and trademark clues that will help to identify a particular vintage Barbie doll that you have in your collection.

To truly be considered vintage, Barbie dolls must be from between the years 1959 and 1972.  Other special "collectible" editions of Barbie were released by Mattel later than that, but they are their own story and I may write more about them later.

Prices for the very early Barbie dolls can get quite high.  Values can exceed ten thousand dollars in some cases.  The value of each doll will depend on factors such as the model itself, its condition, and whether or not any type of restoration work has been done to the doll.  If restoration has occurred, the quality of the restoration becomes very important.  The techniques and materials used during the restoration process should be true to the era from which the doll originally came.  The value of a Barbie doll can drop significantly if it has been restored improperly or by inferior means.  There are many Barbie doll collectors who do not want anything to do with restored dolls.  They prefer to pay the extra money required to obtain only original, undamaged Barbies (preferably with the original packing).  Certainly, if you are considering the purchase of a vintage Barbie doll as an investment or as an expensive addition to your collection, you should ask the seller for as many details as possible about the dolls history.  A quality seller of vintage dolls or any antique or vintage merchandise will feel obligated to mention any restoration that may have occurred, but you should still ask if it has not been mentioned specifically in the listing for the item.

Often, the original packing material for a vintage Barbie doll will be long gone by the time a collector is considering its purchase.  If you do happen upon a truly vintage Barbie doll still in its original package, you should be prepared to pay a premium price to own it.  Do some investigative work before bidding on one of these items and be sure that the seller is knowledgeable about the doll they are offering for sale.  Specifically ask the seller if this is an original or if it is a replica Barbie released to commemorate an earlier addition.

Probably the most rare vintage Barbie doll available is the original 1959 doll wearing a black and white swimming suit.  You can take a look at one of those if your travels ever take you near the Smithsonian.  They are very rare but it is possible that you will find one selling at someone's garage sale (you never know!).  There are still quite a few vintage Barbies floating around out there in peoples attics and basements waiting to be discovered by collectors.

Collecting vintage Barbies can look like a hardcore business at times, but it should be fun first of all.  Serious collectors also find themselves playing the part of serious investors at times, so caveat emptor (buyer beware) certainly applies.  Do some research and enjoy yourself as you build your collection of vintage Barbie dolls!

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