Jameson’s Blog

The New York toy fair hosted the introduction of a phenomenon in 1959. This was when Barbie 1909 Philadelphia Caramel were introduced to the world. They are still made at the present time and many millions have been sold all over the globe. Barbie collecting is a very popular hobby as a result and Mattel estimates that there are over 100,000 people who collect Barbie dolls. Most of these are female and are on average 40 years old. They tend to buy about 20 barbie dolls each every year.

Barbie underwent many changes in appearance over the years. The first Barbie had a ponytail hairstyle and wore a zebra striped one piece swimsuit. She was marked Made in Japan on the bottom of the right foot and had the copyright date 1958 on the back. This is the rarest Barbie and if you locate one in really nice condition it is quite valuable.

Vintage Barbie dolls are considered by collectors to be those made between 1959 and 1972. Later dolls are considered to be modern. Mattel made special edition dolls in the later years which have their own collector following. To be truly collectible these later dolls should be in mint condition in the original box. Several different You’ll Die Laughing editions of these were made in varying limited quantities.

The Pink Label collectible Barbies were made with no limit to the quantity. The next level of collectible Barbies was the Silver Label edition which were limited to 50,000 dolls and distributed worldwide. Gold Label Barbie dolls were made in an edition of up to 25,000. The top tier is the Platinum Label dolls which were limited to 1000 dolls. These label edition dolls are much sought after by collectors. To be of value as a collectors they should be in the original box and be in mint condition.

Barbie collecting is popular in many countries around the world. Pre 1972 vintage Barbies are the most sought after and many are still to be found in garage sales,flea markets,thrift stores and such like places. Most people know nothing about vintage Barbie dolls or their values. As a result there are lots of them still out there waiting for the right collector to come along and find them. The thrill of the hunt can be almost obsessive and can get an avid collector out of bed to be an early bird at garage sales or flea markets. It’s all worth it when that early Barbie is purchased for a song and carried home triumphantly to join her sisters in a collection.

Want to find Barbie dolls and accessories even cheaper than in garage sales? Lots of Barbie dolls, Barbie clothes and accessories are found here starting at $1 and up. Don’t miss it. Check this out www.collectbarbiedolls.com/collectbarbiedolls.com

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 31st, 2009 at 8:04 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.