Vintage Barbie Family Dolls Worth Big Bucks

Every little girl has a story from youth about their favorite doll. If you were a child of the late 50's, you may have been lucky enough to own a number one Barbie, the kind with the holes in the feet, white irises and black and white swimsuit, the kind worth ten thousand dollars today. But there are many other dolls of Barbie and family that came out later, between the 60s and 70s, that can be equally valuable, or appreciating in value on a continuous basis.

One such doll is the "No Bangs," Twist N Turn Francie doll, Barbie's relative. This doll by Mattel was made in 1971, and is worth, in mint condition with original clothing, four hundred dollars, out of the box! It is considered a rarity, because it doesn't have bangs, for many of the Francie dolls from that time period were made with bangs only. The doll also came in different hair shades, blonde being most obvious, but brown rarer. What makes the doll collectible is that the hair is intact, as in not one little girl played beauty parlor on it and cut her locks, and the outfit, an orange and white trimmed dress from the time period, along with shoes and head-band, are intact. The original box increases value. If you can find a No Bangs Francie, regardless if the costume is intact, or hair for that matter, it's a good investment.

There are many people who collect these dolls to resell, and restore dolls with cut hair, or find the outfits at online auctions such as Ebay. There are some wonderful artisans that can restore full eye make-up as well on vintage Barbie and Francie dolls, so if you find one with worn make-up don't despair. You just have to mention the restoration that the doll received before reselling.

Reselling these vintage Francie dolls can be profitable, especially when bought on the cheap, but they are hard to find. I was lucky to have found one at a yard sale in 1998, almost mint and with complete outfit. I paid ten dollars for her, and sold her on Ebay for 399.00! This doll had a little chunk of hair missing on the top as well, but that didn't matter to the bidders. The market does tend to vary on these dolls, especially with the online auction and doll markets in general becoming saturated. A No Bangs Francie is still a rarity in the Barbie world, a doll worth studying, searching for and treasuring, as an investment or fond collectible.