How much is a Hummel figurine worth?
A Hummel is a ceramic figure with a mark on the base that dates the trademark. Chips, a missing bee, and a modern mark are the price. The subject alone is not.
Hummel figurines are the ceramic children based on drawings by a German nun, made for decades, mostly by Goebel. They are identified by a model number and a trademark on the base. The trademark changed over time, and collectors use those marks as a rough date. A thrift and estate shelf of them is common because they were given as gifts for years. A chipped base, a repaired flower, and a later trademark are the usual find. An early mark in perfect condition is less usual, and it still needs a sold comp of that model, not a memory of what Hummels used to cost.
This page will not quote a model. Read the incised number and the stamped mark, photograph both, and search that model number with the mark you have. Repairs done with glue show under a light. The estate-sale guide is relevant because a cabinet of figurines gets one hopeful price for the glass, and the marks are how you refuse to pay it.
What to look for
- Model number
- Incised on the base, often with a size suffix. Photograph it so the digits are readable. The name people use for the figure and the number should agree. If you cannot read the number, do not invent it from a similar child.
- Trademark
- A stamped mark, the bee and the wording that changed by period. A current or late mark is a late figure. Show the stamp even when it is faint. A faint mark is not an early mark. It is a faint mark.
- Chips and repairs
- Bases, flowers, and the tips of things chip. A repair looks like a smear in raking light or a different gloss. Say repaired if you see it. A hairline through the base is structural. Tap tests are a way to break a figure. Do not tap it on the counter.
- Size
- The same model was made in more than one size. The suffix and a ruler are the size. A large one and a miniature do not share a price. Measure the height.
What moves the price
- Model and mark
- Search the number and be honest about the trademark period. Later marks of common models are the estate-sale default. Early marks of the same child are a different comp. The face is not the difference. The base is.
- Condition
- Mint, chipped, and repaired are three prices. A professional repair is still a repair. Disclose it in the title, not in the last photo.
- Supply
- Many models were made for a long time. The result is supply. A cabinet of twenty common late marks is twenty common figures. Do not multiply the best historical price you ever heard.
- Boxes
- An original box helps and is often missing. Do not imply a box. A stained box is a stained box. The figure still has to be checked for chips. The box hid them in the closet. It does not heal them.
Where to sell
- eBay
- Model number, trademark described, height, and a photo of every chip. Collectors search the number. “Antique Hummel child” is not a search they trust.
- Local replacement and estate buyers
- They know the common models and will not pay a peak-era price. A low offer on a common late mark may be the market. Check one sold listing on your phone before you argue.
- Pass
- A figure with a crack through the base, at a price that assumes a collector, is a pass. The chip is the object now.
What a photo can settle
The whole figure, the base number, the trademark, and a raking shot of any chip. Worth can recognize the style. The number and the mark are the listing, and they are on the bottom, which is the photo people skip. Do not skip it.
Questions
- Is the bee mark old?
- There were several bee trademarks across decades, and later marks are not the early ones. The wording around the bee matters. Photograph it and compare with a current reference for the marks, then say which one yours matches. Do not call every bee “the old bee.”
- A finger has been glued. Should I say mint?
- No. Say repaired, and show the joint. Mint means no repair and no chip. Collectors who want mint will pay a mint price and then return a glued finger. You will lose the postage.
- Why are there so many at estate sales?
- Because they were standard gifts and they survived in cabinets. Supply is the reason a common model is priced as a gift, not as a rarity. The mark tells you whether this one is the exception.