For many of us, our homes are filled with decorative items that take up space on our shelves and fireplace mantels. Oftentimes, these objects have sentimental value. They've either been passed down from a family member or gifted to us by a friend. However, if you're lucky, you may be in possession of items that also have high monetary value.
We've previously told you about how items like Precious Moments figurines are now worth around $2,000––which is 15 times its original value. Now, another vintage object is bringing in lots of cash for collectors.
Madame Alexander dolls are apparently selling for thousands of dollars, according to Dr. Marsha Trentham Hunter, an antique doll collector, historian and member of the Madame Alexander Doll Club. She tells Good Housekeeping that not all dolls are worth the same. Those produced in the 1940s and 1950s are hot commodities.
Beatrice Alexander founded the Alexander Doll Company in 1923. She was ahead of her time when she started manufacturing dolls out of cloth, then later with hard plastic, instead of porcelain. She soon became one of the most sought after dollmakers in the United States. Decades later, her dolls are still the talk of the town.
If you're wondering which dolls you should be looking for in your attic, at the next yard or estate sale, the following Madame Alexander dolls could fetch the most cash. According to Good Housekeeping, this information comes from Theriault's auction house, which specializes in antique dolls.
"Fashion of a Century" dolls
A doll, model 6018, from the 1951 "Fashion of a Century" series was auctioned off for $25,000. Similar hard plastic 18 and 20-inch dolls from that decade could be worth the same.
Cissy dolls
You could get more than $5,000 by selling a Cissy doll created between 1955 and 1958. She is popular because she's believed to be the first "fashion doll" in America.
21-inch composition Dolls
The "Marie Antoinette" doll from the portrait series was recently sold at an auction for $20,000. Similar dolls created around 1942 to 1946 could also bring in major cash. These dolls are particularly coveted because they're designed using composition, a material derived from sawdust-based composite.
To increase the value of one of the dolls, make sure it is as close to mint condition possible and in its original packaging. If not, Hunter does not recommend cleaning it.
“The dealer or auction house will advise if the condition is detrimental to the selling of the doll and include any professional repair or cleaning in its offer or estimate," she says.
She also shares some storage tips to protect the doll's integrity. "I recommend a container that is not air-tight — moisture can be trapped in an air tight one — using archival tissue paper as the wrapping material, and putting the container inside the temperature-controlled house, not in an attic or garage," she advises.
