Serious Barbie-doll fans around the world dug deep into their bank accounts last week. About 4,000 dolls were auctioned at Christie's in London, England. Dutch part-time fashion designer Ietje Raebel started collecting the dolls in the 1960s. She bought the first Barbie for her daughter, Marina. It turns out Marina did not like dolls. But, as an adult, she added to the collection.
The auction raked in more than $200,000. The big seller: a 1965 Barbie in Midnight Red. The rare doll sold for a record-breaking $17,000. It is the priciest modern plastic doll ever sold at auction in England.
An original Barbie, also known as No. 1 Barbie, brought in big bucks too. She was auctioned off for $5,695. That's quite a jump in value for Barbie. The brown-haired beauty sold for $3 back in 1959. That year, 351,000 of the dolls were sold. These days, Mattel sells three Barbies every second.