Identifying Vintage Barbies: When a 1966 Barbie is not a 1966 Barbie! - By: Judy Danalewich

Many people think that when they see the 1966 date on the back of a barbie doll, that it is the vintage one. Probably not so. That date was the copyright date and was still used through the late 1990's on current Barbie dolls. Ken dolls can have copyright dates of 1968 and be made in the later parts of 1990's. One foolproof way of determining whether your Barbie (well her body anyway) is vintage, is if the butt portion has Japan on it, and it may be on the bottom of her foot as well. Barbie and family were made in Japan from 1959-1972. After that, many were made in Mexico, Hong Kong, or Taiwan. If your doll says China or Malaysia or Indonesia, it is not vintage. The heads sometimes had Japan on the neck rim but not always. This is where investigation becomes necessary. Sometimes heads were switched by their young owners or their friends. So you need to look at the head and do some research, is it a ponytail, a bubblecut, an American Girl?

The earliest Barbies had pink/ivory/white skintone, and solid bodies, that sometimes smell like crayons. They are marked Barbie TM/ Pats. Pend. / c MCMLVIII/ by Mattel/ Inc. Made in Japan. This can be very hard to read on these old dolls. If the doll has inverted V shape eyebrows, she could be a number one or number two. Number ones had holes in their feet for the first stands.Number twos did not. If they have a softer curved eyebrow, it could be a number three doll. After this, the number four dolls from 1960 had more of a tan skintone, same solid torso and same markings only with an r instead of a t.m.

They all had different hairstyles. So if you find an old one with a style that you don't recognize, do some research. And to confuse us more, Midge dolls and Barbies made after 1962 shared the same body, which has a hollow torso and reads Midge tm/c 1962/ Barbie r /c 1958,by/ Mattel, Inc. Made in Japan. So many people thinks Barbies are Midges and Midges are Barbies because they both had the same markings on their bodies. The markings changed a bit along the way, but a tm on the butt of a doll made in Japan is a good one to find!

As the dolls evolved, they had bendable, clicking knees. Their marks were each a little different but still made in Japan. There are many good reference books and sites to research your dolls. The Collector's Encyclopedia of Barbie Dolls is a must have. Also a wonderful online site for all dolls is www.dollreference.com and of course, any good book store will have reference books.

I hope you find this helpful, and I would welcome questions and conversations about Vintage Barbie and her family.

Many people think that when they see the 1966 date on the back of a barbie doll, that it is the vintage one. Probably not so. That date was the copyright date and was still used thru the late 1990's on current Barbie dolls. Ken dolls can have copyright dates of 1968 and be made in the later parts of 1990's.

Judy Danalewich - Judy D's Dolls on Ruby Lane


http://judydsdolls.rubylane.com