You ready for one of the freakiest articles on RetroDodo? Yup… rarest Cabbage Patch Kids dolls.
I bet you thought we were talking about the Best GameCube Horror Games or the Best Zombie Arcade Games. But nope. We talkin’ Cabbage Patch Kids people.
That’s right… since 1982 these “cute” and “sweet” baby dolls have been fascinating collectors and haunting the dreams of children.
Spawning from the works of legendary soft doll artist Xavier Roberts, the original line of dolls were called “The Little People”.
Roberts was a 21-year-old art student at a missionary school at the time. And he wanted to create babies you could “adopt”.
Nothin’ weird about that at all.
The franchise has changed ownership several times in the 40 years of its existence (Coleco, Hasbro, Mattel, Toys “R” Us , Play Along, Jakks Pacific, Wicked Cool Toys)…
But, however you feel about them, they are currently one of the longest running doll franchises and have sold more than 130 million dolls to date.
Cabbage Patch Kids are not made, they are “born”. They are not sold, they are “adopted”. And collectors of the franchise are not weirdos, they are “parents”.
Jokes aside, these things are incredibly popular in their niche community, and their value can be in the thousands to a collector who absolutely must have one.
In my article about Rare Game Boy Advance Games I discussed how the value of a rare item is mostly dependent on how bad someone wants it, and what it will take to separate it from the current owner.
So, no difference here…
How bad does someone want a rare doll from the 1980s? Well, as we will find out, pretty bad sometimes.
So let’s take a look at the 10 rarest (most rare) Cabbage Patch Kids dolls of all time:
10. Adam Gregory – Little People Doll (1979)
A “Little People Doll” comes from the late 1970s before the company was officially established as Cabbage Patch Kids.
So, any dolls that come from that early era are certainly gonna have a higher value and collectors are gonna be hungry to adopt one.
When this Xavier Roberts original from 1979 went up for sale on eBay in perfect condition along with his original diaper, paperwork, and clothing… you know how it goes, little baby Adam was ‘adopted’.
And the adoption fees were $600!
9. Andrew Blair- Little People Doll (1979)
Another rare “Little People Doll”, with original Birth Certificate and paperwork.
Little baby Andrew is bald, but that didn’t stop one ebay buyer from paying $700 for him.
Gives hope to us bald people.
8. CPK Doll With Original Clothing (1986)
This original Cabbage Patch Kids doll from 1986 was kept in such good condition, it was listed on ebay as “new”.
The rare Cabbage Patch Kids doll also came with the original CPK logo on it’s clothing.
Quite an incredible find for collectors, and it was quickly snagged up for $700.
7. CPK Doll From La Princess Collection (1985)
The La Princess Collection in 1985 is a sort of enigmatic rarity in the CPK collectors circle.
So, when a super cute little baby popped up on eBay with no box or paperwork (and presumably, no name), collectors needed no further convincing…
She was purchased for $750 despite being an incomplete. Shows how desirable this collectible doll was!
6. Felicia Francis – Little People Doll (1979)
Look how freakin cute she is! That big hair. That name tag.
Oh, and she’s a 1979 Xavier Roberts original that was kept in pristine condition.
So, is it any surprise that a collector paid $850 to add her to their nursery?
5. Kimono Girl from Tsukuda, Japan (1985)
She’s from Japan, she’s wearing a kimono, and she has blonde hair?
Well apparently all dolls that were produced (birthed… conceived?) in the Tsukuda, Japan factory are considered of the most rare.
So when a perfect condition doll with birth certificate and adoption papers popped up on ebay, it took no time at all for one hopeful parent to spend $1100 for her.
4. Yvonne Mellie (1985)
There are not very many dolls from the mid 80s Coleco Industries iterations.
And to find one in near perfect condition with birth certificate, unheard of.
Despite coming in a pretty beat up box, this well kept doll still managed to sell for $1200, making it one of the most rare and most valuable Cabbage Patch Kids out there.
But not the most valuable…
Are you ready for the top three rarest Cabbage Patch Kids dolls of all time?
3. Teresa Ann (1985)
A redhead! And still has value!
Did you know that only 1-2% of the world population is redheaded?
Well if we can use that information to draw any conclusions about Cabbage Patch Kids, we can assume that redheaded dolls are also gonna be quite rare.
So rare, in fact, that this Teresa Ann in mint condition has been known to sell for anywhere from $500-2000.
2. Barry Fritz – Little People Doll (1979)
If you learn anything from this article, it should be that the ‘Little People Dolls’ came before the Cabbage Patch Kid, and these things are super rare and super valuable.
One of the highest known sales: The Barry Fritz doll hand signed by Xavier Roberts.
Even though he was a bit dirty, had no original papers, and not even in his original clothes… he still pulled in $1,544.89 on ebay. Imagine if he had his original possessions!
1. Little People Twins Signed by Xavier Roberts (1979)
The only thing better than one Little People Doll is two Little People Dolls.
And the only thing better than two Little People Dolls is twins.
And the only thing better than twins are signed twins.
Oh, and redhead twins.
Dang… the trifecta!
That’s right; Xavier Roberts signed twins in original clothes. Doesn’t get any more rare, more valuable, more desirable, more awesome in the CBK community.
It’s no wonder these twins pulled in a whopping $3,500 on ebay. And we can only imagine if they ever went up for sale again, they would surely surpass that value.
Conclusions
Whether you’re into it or not, there are gonna be niche collectibles out there with super high collectible value.
It’s not our job to judge or throw shame at someone for liking something we don’t.
Surely, some of us have been made to feel embarrassed for being grown adults into something that is considered “for kids”.
So I would like to publicly apologize to the doll community for anything I said that might be poking fun.
Y’all are okay in my book. Do your thing.
Anthony has been a video game lover ever since he can remember. He became a fulltime nomad in 2018, living throughout most of Asia. He focused his passion in retro gaming and began creating a game for the Game Boy Color while living in Nara, Japan during the 2020 pandemic. He is now in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where he spends most of his time gaming, going on long walks and meeting as many stray dogs as possible.
