Is there a toy as iconic as Barbie? Debuting in the 1950s and remaining a staple of childhood even into today, the famous doll from Mattel has spent the last six decades doing everything there is to do – she’s had career changes, dozens of🐟 styles, and invites to the most prestigious occasions in the world.
But with dolls constantly on offer now, some of the dolls from throughout Barbie’s long life so far have become far r♔arer than anticipated. Whether from a high sale price, limited run, or famous designer, these rare Barbie and Kell dolꦓls are worth a fortune.
Updated on May 31, 2023 by Gabrielle Castania: Between the continued longevity of Barbie and the hype surrounding the 2023 live action Barbie movie, we wanted to come back to our list of the rarest Barbie dolls and double-check that we’ve still got an accurate list. Below, we’ve found a dozen of the rarest Barbies in the world, complete with release years and current estimated market prices.
12 First-Issue Brunette Flocꦇked Hair Ken Doll ꦯ
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Year Released |
1960 |
|---|---|
|
Estimated Value |
$450 |
In the early days of Ken dolls, he had a specific hairstyle that would later be changed. They called his hair the "flocked hairstyle," which collectors look for when purchasing a first-issue Ken doll from this time frame. His hair is made of felt, but once the manufacಌturer realized his hair would fall out when wet, they changed it to the plastic, mo⛦lded hairstyle we know now.
To get the f🦹ull value of the doll, you'll need this Ken in his original box, with him in his swim trunks and accompanied by his towel, sandals, and stand.
11 🅠 Totally Hair Ken Doll
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Year Released |
1991 |
|---|---|
|
Estimated Value |
$375 |
We probably didn't need to tell you this doll was from the 1990s - the hair and clothes are a pretty dead giveaway. This Ken doll was everything iconic about the 90s, with hisꦇ loud-colored windbreaker jacket, baggy lavender pants, and the signature 90s shag🤡.
A Totally Hair Barbie Doll was also released in this collection as well, but the Ken doll is considered the rarer of the two. A sealed box can 𒈔net you a pretty impressive price if yo💝u're willing to part with this fly 90s guy.
10 🥃 Career Girl Barbie Doll
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Year Released |
1963 |
|---|---|
|
Estimated Value |
$3,495 |
Not only does this Barbie doll's rarity come from the 60 years that have passed since she was created, the Career Girl Barbie was a Japan-exclusive doll, meaning collectors elsewhere around the world were, and still are, clamoring to g🦂et their hands on this import.
With her high gloves, fitted skirt, career jacket, aꦇnd adorable hat, you're very easily looking at a four-digit price tag if you can ever stand to say "sayonara" to your high-value Japanese B🐬arbie.
9 Mattel Lan🐓franc Ken Doll BFC Exclusive
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Year Released |
2014 |
|---|---|
|
Estimated Value |
$75 |
While this Ken doll doesn't exactly have the highest fetch price on our list, he does have a pretty limited-edition rarity to boost his collector's value. The Gianfranco Ken Doll was designed by Robert Best for the Barbie Fashion Model Collection, and it was produced with a gold label.
Though it's a fairly newer doll, compared to the others in this list, only 3,300 were ever produced, meaning you've got a finite num♈ber of Gianfranco Ken Dolls available if you're 🌼trying to complete a collection.
8 ♓ Karl Lagerfeld Barbie ꦜ
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Year Released |
2014 |
|---|---|
|
Estimated Value |
$6,000 |
Another newer but extremely limited-run doll makes our list directly after the last, with the doll created with help from superstar designer Karl Lagerfeld. Donning garb inspired by Lagerfeld's actual high-fashion lines around the time of release, Robert Best once again nailed this limited-run doll.
Only 999 Karl Lagerfeld Barbies were made for the collaboration, so colle🍌ctors are willing to shell out to get their hands ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚon it.
7 Philipp Plein 50-Year Anniversary Platinum Barbie Doll 💃
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Year Released |
2009 |
|---|---|
|
Estimated Value |
$2,500 |
German fashion designer and Barbie fanatic himself, Philipp Plein, created this Barbie doll for his 50-year anniversary in collaboration with Mattel for release at the biggest toy fair in the world, held annually in Nuremberg, Germany, and the toy was only sold during this event.
Again, the run was limited to only 999 dolls, with one of them going to Plein for his own impressive collection. The others are still out in the world someplace, potentially waiting to catch quite a h♏igh sales price if their owners are ever ready to part.
6 🐭 Chataine Barbie Doll
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Year Released |
2003 |
|---|---|
|
Estimated Value |
$1,150 |
With her radiant opulence, highly-detailed overcoat, and innate sophistication, this Chataine Barbie was released at FAO Schwartz and described by Mattel as being a, "brunette version of Capucine Barbie," another elaborate entry from the Barbie Fashion Model Collection.
And while she is something of a recolor of another legacy doll, the fact that only 600 were made brings her value up quite a lot. She was released on New Year's Day in 2003꧑, and twenty years on,ܫ her value has only increased.
5 City Smart Silkstone Barbie Doll 🥃
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Year Released |
2003 |
|---|---|
|
Estimated Value |
$2,495 |
Silkstone Barbie dolls are crafted from a higher-grade plastic that almost feels more like porcelain than actual plastic, and the dolls made from this material have risen𓆏 quite a lot in value because of how infrequently Mattel🎐 uses the material.
Another Robert Best design, this City Smart Barbie was a limited run of 600 dolls, so between the material and the number out theജre in the world, this doll fetches quite a high price.
4 ❀ Lucky Charm Ken Doll
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Year Released |
2017 |
|---|---|
|
Estimated Value |
$1,200 |
Although he's a much newer doll than several of the others in our list, this Lucky Charm Ken Doll was exclusive to the Madrid Barbie Convention in Spain that year. Not only that, but his shoes are made of genuine leather to further drive his value.
Another doll with a limited run, there were only 500 of these dolls ever made. Again, there was a Barbie for this collection as well, but the Ken doll is the rarer of the two. Between the limited release and fabrics of choice, this is the highest-value Ken doll on our list.
3 🍰 Winter Glamour White Barbie Doll
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Year Released |
2006 |
|---|---|
|
Estimated Value |
$2,000 |
While you'll definitely be able to find the Winter Glamour line of Barbie dolls with dresses in plenty of jewel-toned colors, the white dress for this doll is the rarest of them all - only 15 dolls in the line were given the white gown, meaning her ra🐭rity was quite lit🀅erally crafted at creation.
Websites are full of dolls wearing the other colors, but the white gown on this one alone makes her worth much more.