The first Barbie doll was introduced by Mattel in 1959. Barbie made her debut at the New York toy fair in that year. Since then many millions have been made and sold all over the world. Barbie doll collecting has become very popular as a result and Mattel estimates that there are over 100,000 Barbie collectors. Most of these collectors are women with the average age being 40 and they buy an average of 20 Barbies each every year.

Barbie underwent many changes in appearance over the years. The first Barbie had a ponytail hairstyle and wore a zebra striped one piece swimsuit. She was marked Made in Japan on the bottom of the right foot and had the copyright date 1958 on the back. If you find one of these dolls in excellent condition you have a collector's treasure which is worth a condsiderable sum of money.

Vintage Barbie dolls are considered by collectors to be those made between 1959 and 1972. Dolls made after this time are modern dolls in collectors terms. There are many collectors of the special edition dolls which Mattel made in later years. To be a real collectors item these later Barbies must be in the original box and in mint condition. Several different label editions of these were made in varying limited quantities.

The lowest tier Pink Label collectible Barbies were made with no limit to the number produced. The next level of collectible Barbies was the Silver Label edition which were limited to 50,000 dolls and distributed worldwide. Gold Label Barbie dolls were made in an edition of up to 25,000. The top tier is the Platinum Label dolls which were limited to 1000 dolls. These label edition dolls are much sought after by collectors. They must be in mint condition in the original box to have value as a collectors item.

Barbie doll collecting is popular in many countries around the world. Pre 1972 vintage Barbies are the most sought after and many are still to be found in garage sales,flea markets,thrift stores and such like places. Most people know nothing about vintage Barbie dolls or their values. As a result there are lots of them still out there waiting for the right collector to come along and find them. The thrill of the hunt can be almost obsessive and can get an avid collector out of bed to be an early bird at garage sales or flea markets. It's all worth it when that early Barbie is purchased for a song and carried home triumphantly to join her sisters in a collection.