Fashion Lady Doll and Greiner's Doll
APPRAISER:
So I understand your wife went to the yard sale, called you frantically and said, "I need some money."
GUEST:
That's right.
APPRAISER:
And how much did she ask you to get out?
GUEST:
She told me to get $15,000 out.
APPRAISER:
Now, most husbands would not just run to the bank, leave their job and get $15,000 out, so you must have had a lot of confidence in your wife. What was the price they were asking?
GUEST:
A hundred dollars apiece.
APPRAISER:
Okay, she took the $15,000 and bought a whole garage full of dolls at a hundred dollars apiece.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
And I think every doll collector out there, this is their dream is to find something like your wife found. This is an American Greiner doll. On the back, she has this nice paper label that says Greiner on it. And the Greiner firm was established in Philadelphia. They made papier-mâchè dolls and they're very well-loved by the collectors. She has a nice, old body, her original paint, nice hairstyle, nice size. Normally, we find these dolls in larger size. Now, her dress is starting to deteriorate but that's not a major factor in this case. And I'm going to put her little shawl back. But she's worth $1,000 to $1,500. This one over here is a French fashion lady doll, and generally a doll like this would sell from $4,000 to $6,000. Because of her size, I'd put her a little bit higher on the $6,000 range. She's got just a wonderful presence, beautiful paperweight eyes, beautiful complexion, nice size. You find the 18-inch more commonly, so I think your wife did quite well, and she's one of the luckiest ladies, I think, alive.
Appraisal Details
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Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."
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