There is nothing more frustrating than trying to identify an old doll.
Especially when there are millions produced by many different companies. Whenever there is a doll that is an instant success many companies wanting to make fast easy money will produce as many knockoffs or copies as the market will bear. Small changes are made to avoid copy write issues and most people don't realize the subtle changes. A collector has to contend with all this when trying to identify their doll. Cabbage Patch and Barbie are the two dolls that are hardest to identify. Both were made as toys with the makers having no interest in collectors being able to identify them. But, it can be done with much patience and research. I hope the following articles will be helpful in identifying the early Cabbage Patch dolls. The articles I wrote many years ago on identifying
Cabbage Dolls are still some of the most read older articles, so I know there is a lot of interest to identify these old dolls.
Identifying your Doll
Cabbage Patch. The Old Dolls From The 80's
Identifying your Cabbage Patch by the head mold can give you a lot of
information about your doll. It can also be a complicated job.
Coleco used twenty seven molds. The Coleco mold number is imprinted
in the vinyl and centered at the lower back of the head. Raised
numbers in a box on some Coleco heads are meaningless manufacturing
codes. Coleco used single or double digit numbers one through twenty
one omitting the numbers seven and thirteen, thirty, thirty six, forty
four and forty five.
Years of issue and mold number:
1983 - 84
#1 – No dimples, small eyes small smile.
# 2 – Two dimples. Large nose and eyes.
# 3 – One Dimple on left cheek, large eyes. (smaller eyes on heads
made in Hong Kong)
# 4 – Small hole in mouth. Has two dimples. (Very sought after head
mold by collectors)
1985
# 5 – Has one tooth and two dimples,
# 6 – Has a fat face, a pacifier, two dimples and chubby cheeks.
No # 7
# 8 – Big nose. Small smile and had large ears to support eye glasses.
# 9 – Has two dimples, big ears and a silly grin.
# 10 – Has two bottom teeth, chubby cheeks and two dimples.
# 11 – Has a pink tongue sticking out of mouth. Has two dimples.
(This mold was used for many clowns and the Baseball Kids).
# 12 – Has two dimples, a long nose, and a smirky smile.
# 13 – No mold
# 14 – One dimple on the right cheek. Double chin and a fat face.
# 15 – Strained smile and no dimples.
# 16 – Has a dimple in chin, but none in cheeks.
1987
# 17 – Has two top teeth.
# 18 – Has one dimple and an open mouth.
# 19 - Has eight teeth
# 20 - No dimples, This mold was used most for Splash Kids and
toddlers.
# 21 – Dimple in the right cheek. Open mouth with a small tongue
# 22 – This is a grow hair doll. Chubby cheeks, big smile with one tooth.
# 23 – Crooked smile, pink tongue, no dimples.
# 24 – No dimples, crooked smile.
# 25 – 27 No description
In 1983 – 84 only four face molds were used. #'s 1, 2, 3, & 4. In
1985 four moreface molds were added. The dolls were available during
these years in only black and white skin tones. Coleco only freckled
the # 2 face mold with the small eyes in 1983, and the # 1 face mold
in 1985.
Some of the rare and hard to find dolls made during this time are:
Black CPK's made with freckles are especially hard to find, but all
the 1983 freckled are highly collectable.
Boy CPK's with gold, auburn, lemon or red fuzzy hair.
# 4 pacifier kids are hard to find and extremely collectable.
Girl CPK;s with auburn ponytail.
Gray-eyed girls
# 5's with brown hair and blue eyes.
There are oddities in each issue that make that particular doll rare.
Example several dolls made at one factory that have smaller or
larger eyes or a certain small number of dolls that have a different
eye color. You have to really know the dolls and the factory that
made them to identify these odd dolls.
Another interesting identifier of Cabbage Patch dolls is the body tag
sewn into the side seam of the dolls. Coleco contracted with a number
of factories to make the dolls. On these tags of the Coleco
manufactured dolls is a code that tells at which factory produced the
doll. These codes are a one, two or three letter code on the tags.
The codes are as follows and the factory it identifies:
IC – The smallest number mass produced CPK's were produced by this
factory. The dolls produced at this factory have porcelein looking
faces and near perfect hands and feet. The boys have short loop hair
styles and the girls usually have short braids or ponytails. There
were several IC factories and the codes for them are as follows:
IC1, IC2, IC3, IC6.
KT – Kam Yan Toy Factory. One of only three factories in 1983 to
produce freckled kids.
OK – Kader Factory. Largest factory located in 1983 in Hong Kong and
in China thereafter. The only factory that has continued to made the
dolls since 1983.Some of the #3 dolls made at this factory have a
small smudge at the top of the left eye.
P – The Perfedacta Factory. Some of the first dolls produced at this
factory were 18 inch dolls, two inches longer than the standard 16
inch. Dolls were first produced at this factory in 1983 in Hong Kong.
The # 2 head molds all had smaller eyes and many had freckles. Many
of the dolls produced at this factory have come down with the "CPK
pox", a mold growth on the plastic. To clean the pox off use Twin
PINES 9-11 or Removes It.
PMI – Located in China this factory made CPK's in 1984 and part of
1985 when demand was the highest. The dolls produced at this factory
have well shaped thin bodies and small hands. Many #1's have larger
eyes than the OK produced dolls. These dolls have a reverse pox,
small white spots with rings . Use the cleaning method listed above
SS/WS Factories. Made later dolls and clothing.
UT Factory. Located in Taiwan. Made dolls in 1984 and 85. These
dolls are hard to find. They have porcelain looking faces and high
cheek color. The dolls from this factory were not produced for a long
period of time and are the most beautiful. They are the favorite
among collectors. The UT factory was a large producer of CPK clothing.
information about your doll. It can also be a complicated job.
Coleco used twenty seven molds. The Coleco mold number is imprinted
in the vinyl and centered at the lower back of the head. Raised
numbers in a box on some Coleco heads are meaningless manufacturing
codes. Coleco used single or double digit numbers one through twenty
one omitting the numbers seven and thirteen, thirty, thirty six, forty
four and forty five.
Years of issue and mold number:
1983 - 84
#1 – No dimples, small eyes small smile.
# 2 – Two dimples. Large nose and eyes.
# 3 – One Dimple on left cheek, large eyes. (smaller eyes on heads
made in Hong Kong)
# 4 – Small hole in mouth. Has two dimples. (Very sought after head
mold by collectors)
1985
# 5 – Has one tooth and two dimples,
# 6 – Has a fat face, a pacifier, two dimples and chubby cheeks.
No # 7
# 8 – Big nose. Small smile and had large ears to support eye glasses.
# 9 – Has two dimples, big ears and a silly grin.
# 10 – Has two bottom teeth, chubby cheeks and two dimples.
# 11 – Has a pink tongue sticking out of mouth. Has two dimples.
(This mold was used for many clowns and the Baseball Kids).
# 12 – Has two dimples, a long nose, and a smirky smile.
# 13 – No mold
# 14 – One dimple on the right cheek. Double chin and a fat face.
# 15 – Strained smile and no dimples.
# 16 – Has a dimple in chin, but none in cheeks.
1987
# 17 – Has two top teeth.
# 18 – Has one dimple and an open mouth.
# 19 - Has eight teeth
# 20 - No dimples, This mold was used most for Splash Kids and
toddlers.
# 21 – Dimple in the right cheek. Open mouth with a small tongue
# 22 – This is a grow hair doll. Chubby cheeks, big smile with one tooth.
# 23 – Crooked smile, pink tongue, no dimples.
# 24 – No dimples, crooked smile.
# 25 – 27 No description
In 1983 – 84 only four face molds were used. #'s 1, 2, 3, & 4. In
1985 four moreface molds were added. The dolls were available during
these years in only black and white skin tones. Coleco only freckled
the # 2 face mold with the small eyes in 1983, and the # 1 face mold
in 1985.
Some of the rare and hard to find dolls made during this time are:
Black CPK's made with freckles are especially hard to find, but all
the 1983 freckled are highly collectable.
Boy CPK's with gold, auburn, lemon or red fuzzy hair.
# 4 pacifier kids are hard to find and extremely collectable.
Girl CPK;s with auburn ponytail.
Gray-eyed girls
# 5's with brown hair and blue eyes.
There are oddities in each issue that make that particular doll rare.
Example several dolls made at one factory that have smaller or
larger eyes or a certain small number of dolls that have a different
eye color. You have to really know the dolls and the factory that
made them to identify these odd dolls.
Another interesting identifier of Cabbage Patch dolls is the body tag
sewn into the side seam of the dolls. Coleco contracted with a number
of factories to make the dolls. On these tags of the Coleco
manufactured dolls is a code that tells at which factory produced the
doll. These codes are a one, two or three letter code on the tags.
The codes are as follows and the factory it identifies:
IC – The smallest number mass produced CPK's were produced by this
factory. The dolls produced at this factory have porcelein looking
faces and near perfect hands and feet. The boys have short loop hair
styles and the girls usually have short braids or ponytails. There
were several IC factories and the codes for them are as follows:
IC1, IC2, IC3, IC6.
KT – Kam Yan Toy Factory. One of only three factories in 1983 to
produce freckled kids.
OK – Kader Factory. Largest factory located in 1983 in Hong Kong and
in China thereafter. The only factory that has continued to made the
dolls since 1983.Some of the #3 dolls made at this factory have a
small smudge at the top of the left eye.
P – The Perfedacta Factory. Some of the first dolls produced at this
factory were 18 inch dolls, two inches longer than the standard 16
inch. Dolls were first produced at this factory in 1983 in Hong Kong.
The # 2 head molds all had smaller eyes and many had freckles. Many
of the dolls produced at this factory have come down with the "CPK
pox", a mold growth on the plastic. To clean the pox off use Twin
PINES 9-11 or Removes It.
PMI – Located in China this factory made CPK's in 1984 and part of
1985 when demand was the highest. The dolls produced at this factory
have well shaped thin bodies and small hands. Many #1's have larger
eyes than the OK produced dolls. These dolls have a reverse pox,
small white spots with rings . Use the cleaning method listed above
SS/WS Factories. Made later dolls and clothing.
UT Factory. Located in Taiwan. Made dolls in 1984 and 85. These
dolls are hard to find. They have porcelain looking faces and high
cheek color. The dolls from this factory were not produced for a long
period of time and are the most beautiful. They are the favorite
among collectors. The UT factory was a large producer of CPK clothing.
No comments:
Post a Comment