Vintage Barbie Identification & Value Guide |
early barbie dolls from the years 1959 to 1961 |
update: 2023 |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
1959 Ponytail #1 & #2 |
1960 Ponytail #3 |
1960 Ponytail #4 |
1961 Ponytail #5 |
1961 Bubble Cut #1 |
1961 Ken #1 |
|
|
#1 & #2 Ponytail Barbie
|
|
The 1st and 2nd Barbie dolls can't really be
mistaken with any other
Barbie dolls because of
the distinctive eyes -- white irises and dramatically
arched eyebrows. The #1 and #2 are just alike except the #1
has holes in her feet
to accommodate the metal prongs on the first-issued stand
(photo below).
The #2 was only produced for three months making the
#2's even more rare than the #1's. Both will likely be faded to a
whitish color, or
possibly ghostly green, because the vinyl
Mattel used fades over time.
|
|
 |
Issued: |
1959 |
Model: |
850 |
Box Date: |
1959 |
Size: |
1:6 scale, approximately 11.5" tall |
Hair: |
Poodle curls & a ponytail with a hard curl at the end. Soft floss hair.
Flocked head. Brunette or Blonde (might look strawberry blonde). |
Face: |
No iris eye color. Heavy eyeliner with medium blue eye shadow. Arched light or dark brown eyebrows.
Red lips (might fade to reddish-orange). |
Body: |
Heavy solid body that smells of crayons, faded flesh tone, small neck knob. Possible
mold marks on hips (see photo under #3 Barbie). The #1 has holes in the feet with copper tubes inserted. The #2 does not. Some
bodies have nipples. Red nails. |
Marked: |
Barbie™ Pats. Pend. ©MCMLVIII by
Mattel, Inc. |
|
 |
Box and Accessories sold with
this Barbie doll: |
 |
 |
1959 Box (Gay Parisienne fashion
bottom-right) 1959 Barbie Fashion Booklet:
#1 Barbie - 1959 Version
#1, TM, w/Easter Parade, Roman Holiday
& Gay Parisienne
#2 Barbie - 1959 Version
#2, R, last booklet with Commuter Set Black Pedestal Stand (#1 stand has prongs/#2 stand
has a t-wire) Black & White
Zebra-Striped Swimsuit Black Mules (open-toe shoes) Gold Hoop Earrings White Sunglasses |
|
|
|
|
|
#3 Ponytail Barbie
|
|
The 3rd Mattel
Barbie had more lifelike eyes
and eyebrows. The brown
eye shadow and the same faded vinyl
skin tone makes the #3's look rather anemic,
but collectors love that
look. There were fewer
#3's produced with blue
eye shadow. It
can be
difficult to tell the #3 and
#4 Ponytails apart when they
have blue shadow. If you rely on skin color,
it can still be confusing
because Mattel
cross-utilized body parts
creating "transitional"
dolls. See this photo.
|
|
 |
Issued: |
1960 |
Model: |
850 |
Box Date: |
1959 |
Size: |
1:6 scale, approximately 11.5" tall |
Hair: |
Poodle curls & a
ponytail with a hard curl at the end.
Soft floss hair. Flocked head. Brunette
or Blonde (might look
strawberry blonde). |
Face: |
Blue eyes. Light
or dark brown eyebrows. Blue or
brown eye shadow. There were less
dolls painted with blue eye shadow.
Red lips. |
Body: |
Heavy solid
rubbery body that smells
like crayons, faded flesh
tone unless she is a
transitional doll, small neck
knob. May have indented
lines on hips. Some bodies
have nipples. Red
nails. |
Marked: |
Barbie™ Pats. Pend. ©MCMLVIII by
Mattel, Inc. |
|
 |
Box and Accessories sold with
this Barbie doll: |
 |
1959 Box (Gay Parisienne fashion bottom-right)
1960 Barbie Fashion Booklet,
third version with
1960 fashions
Black Pedestal Stand with T-Wire
Black & White Zebra-Striped Swimsuit
Black Mules (open-toe shoes)
Gold Hoop Earrings
White Sunglasses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
#4 Ponytail Barbie
|
|
Originally, the
4th Mattel Barbie looked like the #3
Barbie, minus the
brown eye shadow, but Mattel used a new kind of
plastic for the #4 dolls that
doesn't fade the skin color like the previous
dolls. The body is still the heavy
solid body with some being marked
"R" during the transition into
1961. These #4 Ponytails have aged
wonderfully and retain much of their beauty
from when they were brand new dolls.
In my opinion, the #4 Barbie dolls are very underrated.
|
|
 |
Issued: |
1960 |
Model: |
850 |
Box Date: |
1959 |
Size: |
1:6 scale, approximately 11.5" tall |
Hair: |
Poodle curls & a ponytail with
a hard curl at the end. Soft floss
hair. Flocked head. Brunette
or Blonde (might look strawberry
blonde). |
Face: |
Blue eyes. Light or dark
brown eyebrows. Blue eye shadow
only. Red lips. |
Body: |
Heavy solid rubbery body that
smells like crayons, small neck
knob. Skin color is flesh tone
unless she is a transitional doll (this
image). May have indented
lines on hips (see photo on #3 Barbie).
Some bodies have nipples. Red
nails. |
Marked: |
Barbie™ Pats. Pend. ©MCMLVIII by Mattel, Inc.
or
Barbie® Pats. Pend. ©MCMLVIII by
Mattel, Inc. |
|
 |
Box and Accessories sold with
this Barbie doll: |
 |
1959 Box (Gay
Parisienne fashion
bottom-right)
1960 Barbie Fashion Booklet,
third version with
1960 fashions
Black Pedestal Stand with
T-Wire or Black Wire Stand
Black & White
Zebra-Striped Swimsuit
Black Mules (open-toe shoes)
Gold Hoop or Pearl Earrings
White Sunglasses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
#5 Ponytail Barbie
|
|
The 5th Barbie doll lost the little poodle curls gone in favor of big
coarse curls. They also have a new hollow body.
Unfortunately, the plastic used for the head
sometimes "sweats"
and results in what collectors call "greasy
face." Sometimes the head color darkens
as well. Leg stance is often splayed. Despite being
produced in great numbers by this time, the 1961
#5 Ponytails
are still very detailed and individual in appearance
like the earlier Ponytails, and they still have
those big gorgeous red lips.
|
|
 |
Issued: |
1961 |
Model: |
850 |
Box Date: |
1959 |
Size: |
1:6 scale, approximately 11.5" tall |
Hair: |
Larger coarse curls & a ponytail with a
hard curl at the end. No flocking
under hair. Blonde,
Brunette or Titian (red).
|
Face: |
Eyes and eye shadow are shades of blue to
turquoise. Reddish or light or dark
brown eyebrows.
Red lips. Some #5's have a
greasy-looking face or darkened face. |
Body: |
Lightweight hard plastic body with hollow
torso. Small neck knob.
Beginning with the new hard plastic
bodies, the skin color does not fade as
the previous dolls do and there are no
mold marks on hips. Leg stance is
often splayed. Red nails. |
Marked: |
Barbie® Pats. Pend. ©MCMLVIII
by Mattel, Inc. |
|
 |
Box and Accessories sold with
this Barbie doll: |
 |
1959 Box (Gay Parisienne fashion
bottom-right)
1961 Barbie & Ken Fashion Booklet
Black Wire Stand
Black & White Zebra-Striped Swimsuit
Black Mules (open-toe shoes)
Pearl Earrings
Optional White Sunglasses
Mattel Barbie Wrist Tag |
|
|
|
|
|
#1 Bubble Cut Barbie
|
|
A new kind of Barbie doll called "Bubble Cut" (spelled as two words by Mattel)
joined the Ponytail
Barbie
in 1961.
She had a new bouffant hairdo. The
first-issue Bubble Cuts generally have shorter, tighter
hairdo's and thinner faces than the later ones. They
still have the beautiful red Barbie lips as well
(except for the White Ginger).
They share the same problems
as #5 Ponytails with possible greasy or darkened face and
splayed leg stance. The rare 1961 Bubble Cut is
the Brownette and the harder-to-find White
Ginger.
|
|
 |
Issued: |
1961 |
Model: |
850 |
Box Date: |
1959 |
Size: |
1:6 scale, approximately 11.5" tall |
Hair: |
Bouffant hairdo, usually smaller/tighter
than later Bubbles. Hair is more
wiry than soft. Blonde, Raven
(black), Titian (red), Brown Sable
(Brownette) and White Ginger (platinum).
The hair on the White Ginger has oftentimes oxidized to
a darker blonde over time.
1961 White Gingers can be difficult to
verify. Do your research when
looking to purchase one. |
Face: |
Eyes and eye shadow are shades of blue to
turquoise. Reddish or light or dark
brown eyebrows. Red lips, except
for the White Ginger's bubblegum pink
lips which oftentimes has faded to white.
Some 1961 Bubbles have a
greasy-looking face or darkened face. |
Body: |
Lightweight hard plastic body with hollow
torso. Small neck knob. 1961
Bubbles have a thinner face than
post-1961 Bubbles. Leg stance
might be splayed. Red nails. |
Marked: |
Barbie® Pats. Pend. ©MCMLVIII
by Mattel, Inc. |
|
 |
Box and Accessories sold with
this Barbie doll: |
 |
1959 Box (Gay Parisienne fashion
bottom-right)
1961 Barbie & Ken Fashion Booklet
Black Wire Stand
Black & White Zebra-Striped Swimsuit
Black Mules (open-toe shoes)
Pearl Earrings
Optional White Sunglasses
Mattel Barbie Wrist Tag |
|
|
|
|
 |
Value: $300 - $1200
value guide key |
|
#1 Ken - Flocked-Hair Ken
|
|
The 1st Ken dolls had
lifelike fuzzy "flocked" hair
and are easy to tell apart from the later
painted-hair Ken dolls. The first batch of
Ken dolls also had larger
eyebrows than the painted-hair Ken's,
although flocked-hair Ken's were
produced with thinner eyebrows over time.
Some have greasy faces, faded body color
and painted legs like the Barbie dolls do.
There was also a hard-to-find "Brownette" Ken
produced in 1961. (see image with
red towel).
|
|
 |
Issued: |
1961 |
Model: |
850 |
Box Date: |
1961 |
Size: |
1:6 scale,
approximately 12" tall.
"Shortie" Ken is slightly shorter. |
Hair: |
Flocked hair. Blonde, Brunette
and HTF "Brownette" (light brown hair). |
Face: |
Blue eyes. Reddish, light or
dark brown eyebrows. Mauve lips. |
Body: |
Lightweight hard plastic body with
hollow torso. Some early Ken dolls have
painted legs. Some Ken dolls also fade to ivory or
ghostly green and some have "greasy"
faces. |
Marked: |
Ken™ Pats. Pend. ©MCMLX by
Mattel, Inc. |
|
 |
Box and Accessories sold
with this Ken doll: |
 |
1961 Ken Box (graphic with Black Striped
Trunks, bottom-right)
1961 Barbie & Ken Fashion Booklet
Black Wire Stand
Red Cork Sandals Red Trunks (red knit, red cotton, or
red cotton with white stripes)
Red & White Striped Cabana Jacket
Yellow Terrycloth Towel (optional
Red Towel with Brownette Ken)
Mattel Ken Wrist Tag |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Value: $150 - $650
value guide key |
|
The values listed are
meant to give someone with no knowledge of vintage Barbie an
approximate idea of value of dolls in
average to excellent condition. Values vary
wildly for many different reasons including the condition of the doll,
any original accessories included, the cycles of the market. The values
listed do not include values for
rare versions of dolls. The values for Bubble Cut
dolls are based on the 1st-Issued dolls produced in 1961,
not subsequent Bubble Cut dolls. The values for Ken
are for the 1st-Issued 1961 flocked-hair Ken dolls only.
Excellent:
This is based on dolls that have no missing fingers/toes, no
swingy arms/legs and have excellent face paint or small minor rubs,
no darkened face, no missing hair -- or in
the case of ken, he has a full head of flocking or just a very tiny spot
missing. Very few Ponytails have the
original top and bottom bands because the rubber bands
disintegrate, so a professional restyle is common.
Average:
This is based on dolls that have no
major damage. Barbie may be missing the original hair bands
and be out of the original style and she may even have
some thinning on one or two inconspicuous hair plugs, but there are no
haircuts or large amounts of hair missing. Ken may
have some flocking missing, but he is not bald or almost bald.
There may be rubs on the lips, eyebrows or
eye ridges, but the doll is not missing significant
amounts or all
lip or eyebrow paint. The arms and legs aren't swingy
or don't
fall out of the sockets. There is no major damage
such as nose nips or neck splits or green ear.
Even though I haven't included values for dolls with
damage, don't disregard them.
Restored & Display Dolls:
There is still value in dolls with more extensive damage.
Even poor condition early Barbie dolls are acquired and
valued by collectors to use for diorama and display dolls. An early Ponytail with a major
haircut can be restyled into a bun or some other creative
hairstyle and can look fabulous. Even a bald flocked Ken
can be the perfect display doll for an outfit that includes
a hat, like Dreamboat and Casuals
Barbie & Ken can also be re-rooted or re-flocked.
Green ear that has spread way off the earlobes can sometimes
be treated and neck splits can be repaired to bring back the
beauty of the doll.
These dolls can be lovingly restored and go from poor
condition to beautiful.
I don't have values
for dolls with
major damage or restorations, but these very early dolls
from the first two years will always have value and are a very iconic period of
Barbie.
(Any restorations/repairs
should always be disclosed to prospective buyers when
selling the dolls.)
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
If you'd like to be notified of sales list updates, please use the contact page to send me your email address.
Alternatively, you can follow Vintage Babs on Facebook.
I'll post all updates there as well. |
|
|