Woman's vintage Barbie doll bought for $11 at thrift store could be worth hundreds to collectors

Daily Mail​

10 hours ago

A Virginia woman bought a vintage Barbie doll from a thrift store for $10.99 - only to find it was actually worth up to $400.
The toy would have sold in the 1960s for just $2 - roughly $20 today - but can now sell to collectors online for hundreds of dollars.
Grace Caroline, 29, told Newsweek of her find: 'She is still in her original box from 1962 and looks mostly untouched.'
'She does have a case of what Barbie collectors call green ear, where the original metal earrings she once wore oxidized into the vinyl of the face.'
While the doll was missing the hand tag, the original booklet was still sealed in the box.
'I wanted to ensure that it was saved from the thrift to be in the hands of a Barbie collector where it can be cherished and appreciated after 63 years in storage,' Caroline said.
Red bathing suits were the standard outfit for Barbie dolls during the early 1960s, and some of the models cost up to $378 on eBay.
Caroline posted photos of the doll in a Reddit post that flooded with hundreds of comments, some questioning whether it was an original doll.
'I have a lot of people calling it staged because thrift stores have become very adamant in making sure the good stuff goes behind the counter,' she said.
'But with the sheer amount of daily donations thrift stores get because of our hyper-consumeristic lifestyle, it doesn't surprise me that gems like this do slip past thrift employees.'
Others could tell the Barbie was not a reproduction and congratulated the shopper on her find.
'For those in the know, you have scored an expensive Barbie. It looks genuine. Well done,' a commenter wrote.
'These are the reasons I still believe and I still keep thrifting. Well done and good on you,' a fan responded.
'That's really cool! My mom's best friend had old Barbies that I used to play with as a kid and my favorite part was that little catalog,' another person commented.
Amy McKune, a curator at the National Museum of Toys and Miniatures, was impressed with 63-year-old doll's condition.
Reaction: Some Reddit users refused to believe the doll was an original while others congratulated Caroline on her find
'She does appear to be in her original box, wearing her original swimsuit and red sandals,' McKune told Newsweek.
'Often the thin strap on the tops of those sandals has split as the plastic has aged.
'I can't see her ears to know if she still has her original earrings. The pearl earrings often have left an area of green discoloration around the ears.'
The expert revealed the exact model was a #6, the first kind of Barbie doll to wear the red swimsuit.
'Isn't it amazing that after only three years, Mattel had introduced six models?' McKune continued.
'The model number on one end of the box (Model 850) was used for all of the Ponytail Barbie dolls.'
A longtime Barbie collector claimed the doll was not as expensive as others but that it was still a major steal.
'This is a #6/7 ponytail, so not anywhere near as valuable as the first or second barbie,' the Barbie fan wrote.
'Still probably worth around $400 or so. She's in really nice condition and Titians are sought after, especially with no green ear.'
Made by Mattel, the first Barbie doll launched in 1959 and was the first mass-produced toy doll in the U.S. with adult features.
The doll became a national treasure, spawning other models that have their own adventures and jaw-dropping prices.
It's also been an inspiration for the entertainment industry, especially for the 2023 box office smash Barbie.
More than 50 million dolls are sold annually worldwide, but that could change now that prices of Barbies may rise due to tariffs.
Barbie competes with other famous dolls such as Labubus, a brand of dolls that has left fans terrified despite buyers purchasing them for $150,000.