Armand Marseille 370 Doll Value: Marks, Sizes & Prices
The Armand Marseille 370 is the most common antique German bisque doll ever made — a bisque shoulder head with sleep eyes and an open mouth, on a kid (leather) body, produced from about 1900 into the 1930s. Because it was made in enormous numbers, most 370s are worth modest money: in our October 2026 survey the median asking price was US$103, and a bare head sells for US$35–59.
That is the short answer. The longer one matters if you are buying or selling, because the same mold number covers a US$10 doll and a US$807 doll, and the difference is almost never the mark.
We pulled 373 distinct live listings across eleven buyer searches on eBay US and eBay Germany, filtered to 103 genuine A.M. 370s, and cross-checked the asking market against 26 dealer listings on Ruby Lane and 226 archived auction price results. Here is what the numbers say, and how to read the mark on the back of the neck.
What the 370 Mark Actually Tells You
Armand Marseille ran one of the largest doll-head works in the world, at Sonneberg and Koppelsdorf in Thuringia: a toy factory bought in 1884, a porcelain factory in 1885, and an earliest recorded doll mold of 1890. Between 1900 and 1930 it reportedly turned out around 1,000 bisque doll heads a day.
Two molds account for most of what survives from that output:
- 370 — bisque shoulder head, sleep eyes, open mouth, kid or cloth body. Catalogued from about 1900.
- 390 — bisque socket head on a composition jointed body, also from about 1900.
Doll reference literature describes 370 and 390 together as Marseille's most commonly found molds for the whole 1900–1938 period. That is why "A.M. 370" turns up in almost every antique shop in the world — and why it is not, by itself, a valuable doll.
One more thing the mark does not tell you: Marseille did not make all-bisque dolls, and every Marseille body was bought in from another German maker. A "370" that is entirely porcelain is either another maker's doll or a modern piece wearing Marseille's number.
370 vs 390: The Five-Second Test
Sellers mix these two up constantly, and the mistake runs in both directions in listings we read this month. The difference is structural, not cosmetic:
- 370 = shoulder head. The head and the shoulder plate are fired as one piece. There is no seam at the neck, the shoulders are wide and rounded, and the head physically cannot turn. The body is cloth or kid.
- 390 = socket head. The head has a rim that sits into a separate shoulder plate, held by a peg or a tie. The head turns. The body is jointed composition.
Put your hand on the crown and try to rotate the head. If it moves, it is not a 370. If it is rigid with the shoulders and the torso is soft leather or cloth, it is — regardless of what the listing says. We routinely see 390s titled "370" and 370s titled "390 A.M.", so the photo of the neck matters more than the title.
Decoding the Rest of the Mark
A typical stamp reads something like "370 A.M. 2/0X DEP Germany" or "A 3/0 M 370". Each part has a job:
- 370 — the mold number (the face and head shape).
- A.M. — Armand Marseille. The "A" and "M" often sit either side of the size, which is where confusion starts: in "A 3/0 M", the A and M are the maker's initials, not extra codes.
- 2/0, 3/0, 6/0, 1, 2½ — the mold size, not inches. A bigger denominator means a smaller head. A "6/0" doll measures around 14 inches; a "2½" doll runs about 23 inches. Always measure the doll rather than trusting the code — bodies were bought in and swapped.
- DEP — deponirt, German for "registered design". It appears on the overwhelming majority of 370s, so it is not a rarity signal.
- Germany — the country-of-origin stamp required for export to the United States from 1891 onward. It confirms the doll was made for export; it does not date it.
- An X after the size, and sometimes DRGM numbers, are German registration marks from the same system.
What A.M. 370 Dolls Ask in October 2026
These are asking prices, not sold prices — eBay's completed-sales search is now behind a verification wall, so realised prices have to be inferred from auction records and dealer retail.
- eBay US: 52 listings, median US$103, middle half between US$60 and US$159.
- eBay Germany: 51 listings, median US$125 — but the German pool is contaminated by cross-border sellers, so treat it as a wider European asking level rather than a German home-market price.
- Ruby Lane (dealer retail): 26 listings, 17 with visible prices, median US$125, range US$35–US$295.
- Top of the market: five US listings above US$300, the highest a 17.3-inch head at US$807. These are the exceptions, not the trend.
- Auction depth: LiveAuctioneers holds 226 archived price results for "armand marseille 370" and 3 upcoming lots this month. The equivalent search for the 390 returns 433 — the socket-head doll is the one that reaches auction rooms more often.
Dealer retail sitting at only about 1.2× the eBay median is unusual in this hobby; on rarer French dolls we measured dealer prices at roughly four times eBay. It confirms what the 370 is: a commodity antique priced by condition and completeness, not by scarcity.
Size Is the Single Biggest Driver
Sorting the same 103 listings by the height stated in the title gives a clean ladder:
- 23 inches and up: median US$159 (14 dolls).
- 19–22 inches: median US$100 (33 dolls).
- 15–18 inches: median US$67 (16 dolls).
- 14 inches and under: median US$98 (10 dolls) — small dolls hold up better than mid-size ones because dollhouse and miniature collectors compete for them.
The practical rule: a 370 under 18 inches is a US$40–80 doll in ordinary condition, and nothing you do to the listing changes that. Above 22 inches, buyers start paying for presence.
The Other Five Things That Move the Price
- Completeness. Head, both arms, both legs, original kid body with fingers intact. A "married" doll — 370 head on a later composition body — drops into the bottom quartile however pretty the face.
- Original clothing. The two highest-priced complete dolls in our Ruby Lane pull were both dressed in period costume. A nude doll and the same doll in its original dress are not the same object.
- Sleep eyes that work, and the right wig. Original mohair and working eye mechanisms are worth more than perfect bisque, because they are the parts that go missing.
- Damage position. A hairline at the eye hole or a chip on the shoulder plate is fatal; a cheek rub is a discount. Ask for a back-lit photo — the crack that kills value hides behind the wig.
- Subject. Named and character versions beat the standard child face. "Floradora" 370s (the 20–22 inch version) sat at US$155–160 on dealer lists, and the scarcer dark-complexioned 370s trade above the standard face — one comparable was asking US$153.
Three Traps When Buying a 370
- The frankendoll. A 370 shoulder head does not belong on a jointed composition body, and it cannot turn. If the head turns, someone has married a 390 to it — or glued a shoulder head onto a modern body.
- The 1970s–90s reproduction. The collector boom produced modern porcelain copies cast from original molds, and "370" is among the most copied numbers. Reproduction glaze is glassier, the casting softer, and the mark is often printed rather than incised under the glaze.
- The "rare DEP" pitch. DEP is on nearly every 370. Any listing priced on "DEP" rather than condition is one to walk away from.
If You Are Selling One
Work backwards from the numbers. A US$103 sale on eBay, minus roughly 13.25% in final value fees, leaves about US$89 before postage. Tracked airmail from Hong Kong to the United States runs US$15–35 for a boxed 20-inch doll, so with free shipping you are netting US$55–75.
That is why the 370 should be priced as an entry-level antique: it sells quickly at US$80–120 to a first-time collector and sits for months at US$300. Our A.M. 390 guide measured the socket-head version, and the full Armand Marseille value breakdown covers every mold we track. For the wider market — French dolls and named characters — start with how much an antique doll is worth, and read our German porcelain doll marks guide before you photograph the neck.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is an Armand Marseille 370 worth anything?
Yes, but modestly. The median asking price in October 2026 was US$103, dealer retail US$125, and a complete doll over 23 inches with original clothing reaches US$159–300. A lone head sells for US$35–59.
How can I tell a 370 from a 390?
Try to turn the head. A 370 is a shoulder head — head and shoulders are one fired piece, so it cannot move — and the body is kid or cloth. A 390 is a socket head on a jointed composition body, and it turns.
How old is my 370?
The mold was catalogued from about 1900 and stayed in production into the 1930s, so the number cannot date the doll — judge by the body, wig and clothing.
Buying a 370 From Us
Every doll we list is photographed on our own bench, with the head, body and any repairs described in the listing. We have shipped 53,000+ items and hold 100% positive feedback across 14,860 eBay transactions as vintagetoy617, so you can check the record before you buy.
Browse the dolls and plush collection, or email us a photo of the neck mark and we will tell you which mold you have and what it realistically sells for — no charge, no obligation.