If you’ve ever seen your parents being overprotective toward their collection of colorful Goebel figurines, it’s for a valid reason. Goebel figurines are not just ‘dolls’ but licensed Sister Hummel, Disney, and animal-shaped souvenirs that really are collectors’ treasures.
So, I’m here to help you identify valuable Goebel figurines and their worth so you don’t mistake them for common dolls like the mini-me!
Key Takeaways
- An old Goebel figurine’s value changes with its type, style, condition, size, artist signs, and marks.
- Goebel’s official & signed Hummel, Disney, and Schaubach Kunst series are the brand’s most precious and in-demand figurines.
- You can sell your Goebel figurines at offline and online auctions like eBay, Etsy, Rubylane, and Mercari or even put an ad on the Hummel Clubs Page.
- Old Goebel figurines with their original boxes, letters, and artist signs are valued more than similar designs. Scroll down to learn more about such features!
A Quick Tour to Goebel’s Backstory
Goebel figurines are clay-molded, liquid porcelain figurines made by the Goebel Porcelain Company, a popular utensil brand (est. 1871) from 1930 to 2011.
During the 1930s – 1950s, Goebel acquired legal rights to adapt Sister Maria Hummel’s paintings and Walt Disney characters into 3D figurines, its most popular series by far!
In 1977, the company even founded a ‘Goebel Collectors Club,’ later changed to M.I Hummel Club in 1989 to help members discuss different Goebel figurines and gain access to unique, club-specific models.
But In 2008, Goebel stopped making Hummel figurines due to bankruptcy and sold it to Manufaktur Rödental, a ceramic company that continues making Hummel figurines on a smaller scale.
5 Main Clues to Calculate Old Goebel Figurines Value
While common, locally-made Goebel figurines are worth up to $200 today, the value of limited-edition or packed ones ranges from $500 to $3,000 or more. Generally, you can appraise an old Goebel figurine’s value based on its type, condition, packaging, and size.
Let’s check each valuation factor in detail:
1. Goebel Figurines Types & Styles
Though most Goebel figurines cost about $10 – 200 today, some themed or co-branded figures cost $300 or more in good condition. Below are some of Goebel’s most popular figurine styles:
1. Hummel Figurines
Goebel’s Hummel figurines are a classic adaptation of Sister Maria Innocentia Hummel’s (Berta Hummel) rosy-cheeked children’s paintings to 3D figures.
The original 1930s Goebel-Hummel figurines had natural meadow or village settings, large eyes, rosy cheeks, and hand-painted details, but the mid-1950s figurines were more realistic and glossy.
Usually, such themed Hummel figurines cost $20 – 400, depending on the size & packaging, but a larger set, say a molded group of 4 – 6 figures, can sell for $400 – $700.
You can also find rare, one-of-a-kind, 9-set pieces, which can fetch over $1,000, such as this rare West Germany figurine from 1stDibs!
Hummel’s ‘Apple Tree Boy and Girl’ figurine is the most desirable Hummel figurine due to its detailed, West German design.
2. Disney Figurines
Goebel’s Disney figurines are a 3-D version of the original Walt Disney cartoons featuring Bambi, Mickey Mouse, Pluto, Donald Duck, Snow White & other characters.
Small, unpacked cartoon figurines are worth $70 – $300, while those in a set or box cost more, even up to $1,200.
Don’t forget to check Disney’s original logo, year & copyright mark on the figurine’s base to avoid buying a forged piece.
3. Animal Figurines
These Goebel figurines are shaped like animals and birds, like dogs, cats, sparrows, parrots, bees, cock, foxes, horses, and more, with hand-painted scales, feathers, and fur. Usually, these are worth $15 – $350, depending on their size and condition.
4. Schaubach Kunst Figurines
Schaubach Kunst figurines (1946 – 1970) are Goebel’s separate figurine line for flowing, 7-11 inch figurines – dancers, ballerinas & athletes. Depending on the size and the condition, you can value these figurines for $20 – 350.
Such figurines have realistic handmade details and an original Schaubach Kunst mark (a shield mark with an S inside it) on the base.
5. Goebel Holiday Figurines
Goebel Holiday Figurines is a set of well-curated holiday – Easter, Christmas, and Winter figurines worth $10 – 180.
I have also spotted a signed Goebel copyright mark with an embossed date on the base or accessories of each of these holiday figurines.
2. Figure’s Condition
Remember that old Goebel figurines with visible aging marks like yellowish porcelain stains, mold lines, and light crazing (a web of surface-line glazing cracks) are more desirable. But broken, cracked, or mold-covered figurines lose their monetary money.
It’s advisable to rinse dusty figurines with a solution of mild soap and warm water to scrub off the grime and mold.
3. Vintage Goebel Figurine’s Packaging
Recently, I appraised a few Goebel models, and here’s how it works! The figurines with their original boxes, styrofoam inserts, certificates, and bills are worth more and in more demand than others.
Here are two listings for Goebel Goose-girl Figurines that I tracked on eBay. While the figurine without the box sold for around $800, the one with the box fetched $920. So yes, original boxes are important!
4. Goebel Figurine Artist Signs
A typical Goebel figurines catalog has two types of figurines: local artisanal figures and designer ones with original artist signs and marks.
Unsigned Goebel figurines usually fetch up to $200 if they have their original box and papers, while signed ones, especially those from Charlot BYJ, Gustav Klimt, Rosina Wachtmeister, and M.J Hummel, are valued at $100 – 800, depending on their size & rarity.
The redhead Goebel figurine is one such popular Charlot BYJ signed figurine, but it’s worth less than $150 due to its small size (4-inch) & easy availability.
5. Goebel Figurine Size
Generally, large 20 – 35 inch Goebel figurines, which are also rare to find, are valued more than the small, 2 – 4 inch models, despite their signs and collections.
But remember to use this factor to find the valuable one between two similar-looking, packaged & graded models.
3 Easy Ways to Identify & Date Goebel Figurines
You can identify original Goebel figurines by their porcelain bodies, logos, trademarks, size designators, and artist signs on the base. And if your figurine still has its original box and paperwork, you can even verify Goebel’s seal and date code on top!
1. Goebel Trademarks
Antique Goebel figurines from 1930 – 2008 had a handmade, pure cobalt oxide, water-proof trademark on the base.
While the first marks were intricate, cursive, or stylized, they changed to simple and bold textual marks over the years, making them crucial to date Goebel figurines.
Here is a comprehensive Goebel figurine age chart with all trademark (TMK) variations, along with their years:
| Goebel Trademark Number | Key Features | Manufacturing Year | Figurine’s Age |
| TMK – 1 | Original M.J. Hummel signs or a 2D stylized crown with the initials ‘WG’ (William Goebel) inscribed under it | 1935 – 1949 | 74 – 88 years |
| TMK – 2 | Hummel’s flying bee marks inside a black-filled or outlined V and a copyright symbol | 1950 – 1959 | 64 – 73 years |
| TMK – 3 | A bee’s front profile with a circle and two flat wings inside a bold, black ‘V’ with a ‘West Germany’ location mark | 1960 – 1972 | 51 – 63 years |
| TMK – 4 | A front-facing bee icon inside a black-colored ‘V’ with a three-lined inscription – The Copyright symbol, Goebel sign & a West Germany mark next to it | 1964 – 1972 | 51 – 59 years |
| TMK – 5 | ‘The Last Bee Mark’ series featuring an illustrated bee & V icon over the second E in ‘Goebel’ | 1972 – 1979 | 44 – 51 years |
| TMK – 6 | Simple, sans-serif logo featuring the brand name, ‘Goebel’ and a ‘W. Germany’ location mark under it | 1979 – 1990 | 33 – 44 years |
| TMK – 7 | A thin, sans-serif Goebel mark with the country name (Germany) and the original crown mark (TMK 1) under it | 1990 – 1999 | 24 – 33 years |
| TMK – 8 | A textual Goebel logo with a side-facing bumble-bee profile between the last ‘B’ and ‘L’ | 2000 – 2008 | 15 – 23 years |
Old & original Goebel trademarks don’t fade away with water, dust, or sunlight. So if your figurine doesn’t have a trademark, it might be forged.
2. HUM Numbers
One of the most effective ways to identify any old Goebel Hummel figurine from the 1930s – 1970s is by its HUM numbers!
Usually, the earliest 1930 – 1950s figurines have a plain, 1-2 digit incised or handpainted serial (HUM) number, like ‘92’ for the ‘Little Stopper’ figurine, on their base.
The post-1950s figurines might also have a size indicator – 0,1 and 2 for the ‘small,’ ‘medium,’ and ‘large-sized’ figures next to the HUM numbers.
3. Decoration Designations
Early 1930 – 1950s Goebel figurines had an incised or hand-painted decoration (glaze) designation consisting of a slash mark and an alphabet or number next to it.
| Goebel Figurine Decoration Designation | Meaning & Description |
| /11 | Used for matte-finished pastel color figurines |
| /13 | Solid Ivory or inlaid figurines |
| /83 | Matte glazing on a standard, bisque porcelain figurine |
| /W | White overglaze figurine |
On the other hand, the newer models had a crystalline or satin glaze, with no such decoration marks and numbers. You can also spot these post-1950s figurines by their flat, semi-gloss glazes, just like frost or ice formations.
5 Rarest & Most Valuable Goebel Figurines To Look For!
Over the years, Goebel figurines have been sold for unexceptional prices due to their limited make, sets, and marks. Here are the five rarest & most valuable ones!
1. Apple Tree Boy & Girl Figurine
Goebel’s Apple Tree Boy & Girl numbered #141 & #142, is a set of two sweet German kids sitting on an apple tree with traditional German garb, hats, and scarves. In small size, this figurine can sell for $500 – $1,000, but a rare 32-inch Goebel Apple Tree Boy figurine was sold for $19,000 on eBay!
2. Goebel Old Crown Figurine
This is a themed figurine based on Sister Maria’s ‘Bavarian child’ painting, depicting a little girl wearing shorts, socks, flip-flops with a black-colored play dog, and caramel pie.
Despite its small size (5 inches), the figurine is valued at up to $2,000 due to its rare ceramic-porcelain body and crown marks.
3. Goebel ‘Adventure Bound’ Figurine
Goebel’s ‘Adventure Bound’ is a set of seven German kid figurines, each with backpacks and walking sticks on a ½-inch base. Usually, its value falls around $3,000, but less without original packaging.
4. Ring Around The Rosie
Goebel’s Ring Around The Rosie (#348 in Hummel’s catalog) depicts four small German girls playing the schoolyard game on a white base. Being a special 25th-anniversary figurine designed by Gerhard Skrobek, it’s worth $300 – $900 as per condition.
5. Picture Perfect
Picture Perfect (#2100 in Goebel’s catalog) is a special figurine portraying three posing girls, a black dog, and a German boy photographer. While this figurine measures only 8 inches, the used ones can still fetch $600 – $1,000, and a brand-new piece can be worth over $2,000 due to the limited make of 2,500 pieces.
In a nutshell, there are many easy-to-find visible cues on old Goebel figurines that can help you identify and value them. All you need is a keen eye to spot the original trademarks and designation numbers and this guide for reference!
But if you are more into everyday American-life figurines, the 1960s Lladro figurines will amaze you!
