Armand Marseille Dolls: How to Spot the 390 and 370 Molds
If your antique doll has a number stamped on the back of her head — most often 390, 370 or 341 — and the letters "AM" or "Armand Marseille" pressed into the bisque, you are almost certainly holding a German doll made in Sonneberg, Thuringia, between about 1890 and 1930. Armand Marseille was the single most prolific doll manufacturer in history: the firm produced millions of bisque heads, and the 390 alone is probably the most common antique doll in the world today.
The good news for collectors is that because those heads were mass-produced to a strict numbering system, Armand Marseille dolls are among the easiest antique dolls to identify accurately. You do not need to judge the face or guess the wig — the mold number and the wording of the stamp tell you almost everything. This guide walks through what those marks mean, how the 390 and 370 differ, and what an A.M. doll is realistically worth in 2026.
What the Armand Marseille Marks Actually Mean
Every genuine A.M. head carries a stamp on the back of the head, under the wig cap. Turn the doll over and part the hair or lift the wig cap; the mark may also be hidden by the original paper "pate" seal, which collectors are careful not to damage.
A typical stamp reads something like "390. A. 6/0 M. DEP." and breaks down like this:
- Armand Marseille / A.M. / AM Germany — the maker's name in a circle, an arch, or a straight line. Some heads simply read "Germany".
- 390, 370, 341, 1894, 1897, 990 — the mold number. This is the model of the head, not a serial number, and it is the most reliable identification clue you have.
- DEP — from the French déposé, meaning the design was registered. It appears on A.M. heads from the late 1880s onward and is a sign of a genuine European-registered mold, not a copy.
- A. 6/0 M. / 12 / 0 — a size designation for that head. The number after the mold tells you the head size, not the doll's age. Two identical 390 heads in different sizes are still the same mold.
If the number is a painted or stamped addition on top of the glaze rather than incised into the bisque, treat it with suspicion — that is a common sign of a later copy or a mislabelled head.
The 390: The World's Most Common Antique Doll
The A.M. 390 is the doll you are most likely to meet. Introduced around the turn of the twentieth century and produced in enormous numbers, it was exported worldwide and is still the default "antique German doll" in estate sales and junk shops.
What makes a 390 recognisable:
- A round, chubby face with full cheeks and a dimple in the chin
- An open mouth with two upper teeth visible, not a closed or pouty mouth
- Sleep eyes (weighted glass eyes that close when the doll is laid flat), usually brown or blue
- A bisque head on a composition body — a mix of sawdust, glue and filler that was cheap to mould and jointed at the shoulders, elbows, hips and knees
- Ten to twenty-four inch sizes are common; genuine 390s above 24 inches exist but are much scarcer
Because there are so many of them, condition and original costume matter far more than the mold number when you are valuing a 390.
The 370: Recognising the Sleep-Eye Sister Mold
The A.M. 370 is close enough in age and face shape to the 390 that the two are constantly confused. The difference is usually in the eyes and the overall expression.
- Many 370 examples were fitted with flirty eyes — a mechanism that lets the eyes glance to one side or the other rather than straight ahead. If your doll's eyes move sideways when you tilt the head, look at the 370 mold first.
- The face tends to be slightly narrower and longer than a 390, with a similar open mouth and moulded teeth.
- The stamping convention is identical: "370. A. x/0 M. DEP." on the back of the bisque head.
- The 370 DEP appears on both composition and jointed-wood bodies. Larger examples — often sold as "370 DEP" dolls with full glass or brown sleep eyes — are sought after by re-dressers because they take antique clothing well.
Practical rule: never trust the face. A seller who tells you a doll is a "370" because of the eyebrows is guessing. Read the incised number, then compare the eyes and mouth to confirm.
Other Armand Marseille Molds Worth Knowing
A.M.'s catalogue ran to hundreds of molds. A few others turn up regularly:
- 341 — a smaller, rounder head that often appears on miniature and all-bisque dolls.
- 1894 and 1897 — character dolls with more individual, child-like faces, considerably scarcer than the 390 family and therefore worth more.
- 990 — a larger dolly-face mold, frequently seen in very big "parlour" dolls.
- 390 characters and Floradora — later, more stylised molds made in smaller runs; these are the A.M. heads collectors watch for.
How to Date Your Armand Marseille Doll
The head number will not date the doll to a year, but these details will narrow it down:
- The wording of the country mark — "Germany" alone, "Made in Germany" (widely used after 1891 and required by US law for imported goods), and later "Germany" stamps help bracket the export era.
- The body material — early dolls sat on kid-leather bodies, then composition (roughly 1900s–1930s), then cloth or hard plastic on later economy dolls.
- The eyes — early glass eyes were stationary; sleep eyes became standard from around 1900, and flirty-eye mechanisms appear mainly in the early twentieth century.
- The wig — original mohair wigs glued over a cork or pate cap point to the original factory finish, which raises value.
Mixing and matching was normal, both at the factory and later by owners, so a 390 head on a composition body is entirely typical rather than a red flag. Look up your doll against our full porcelain doll marks reference if the number does not match anything above.
What Armand Marseille Dolls Are Worth in 2026
The honest answer: most A.M. dolls are common, and common dolls are modestly priced. As a rough guide to what collectors pay, assuming original or period clothing and no damage:
- Playworn 390 or 370, damaged bisque, replaced body — often under $40; buyers want these for spare parts or re-dressing.
- Solid, complete 390 in everyday condition — roughly $60 to $150 depending on size, eye type and dress.
- Large, undamaged 370 DEP with flirty eyes and original wig and costume — commonly $180 to $400 or more.
- Scarcer character molds (1894, 1897, 208, 210, Floradora) — from a few hundred dollars upward when mint and complete.
- All-bisque miniature A.M. dolls — usually $20 to $70, with miniature jointed examples near the top of that band.
Damaged bisque — a hairline across the brow, a chipped eye socket, a repaired neck — removes most of the value from a mass-produced doll. Always ask a seller for close-ups of the head, the mark, and the joints before you buy, and compare asking prices against recent sold listings rather than optimistic retail prices.
Quick Identification Checklist
- Part the wig and find the incised stamp on the back of the head.
- Read the mold number first — 390, 370, 341, 1894, 1897 or 990.
- Confirm "Armand Marseille", "A.M." or "Germany" alongside it, plus "DEP" if the design was registered.
- Check the mouth: two moulded upper teeth and an open mouth point to the 390 family.
- Check the eyes: eyes that glance sideways are a strong hint of the 370.
- Look at the body: composition with five or more joints is the standard A.M. body.
- Assess condition and original costume — on a common mold, those decide the price.
You can see several genuine Armand Marseille heads and bodies — including a 370 DEP on a composition body — in our antique dolls collection. Each listing includes close-ups of the head mark, so you can compare a real stamp against your own doll before you buy or sell.
Get notified when rare dolls arrive — join our collector's list and we will email you when new antique German dolls, character molds and bisque heads are added to the shop. No spam, just the pieces, usually a few times a month.
Related reading: What Armand Marseille dolls actually sell for in 2026 — measured eBay asking prices, UK auction hammer results for the 390, 370, 341 and 353 molds, and which A.M. babies break out of the US$100 band.
Related reading: Armand Marseille 370 doll value — marks, mold sizes and 2026 prices — the 370 is the shoulder-head sibling of the 390 and the most common antique bisque doll in existence. Across 103 live eBay listings in October 2026 the median asking price was US$103, dealer retail US$125, and a doll of 23 inches or more with original clothing reached US$159; a bare head sells for US$35–59. The same article explains the five-second test that separates a 370 from a 390, what the size fraction (2/0, 3/0, 6/0) really means, and why DEP is not a rarity signal.