Most Simon & Halbig dolls trade between US$100 and US$500, and the ones that beat that are decided by mold number, size, whether the head is original and whether the doll is complete. We measured the live market on 1 October 2026: 163 unique Simon & Halbig listings on eBay United States, 94 on eBay Germany, 31 on a US dealer marketplace, 70 upcoming auction lots in Germany and 2,997 past auction results.
That is a wide spread, so this guide works the way the question actually works: first the medians, then mold by mold, then the marks that tell you which mold you have.
What Is a Simon & Halbig Doll Worth? (The Short Answer)
On eBay United States, after de-duplicating nine searches in the Dolls & Bears category, the median asking price was US$250, with half the listings between US$125 and US$575. 128 of the 163 listings (79%) asked at least US$100, 73 (45%) at least US$300, and 17 (10%) at least US$1,000 — the top of that US set being a 20-inch black character baby at US$2,445. Germany was cheaper, not dearer: 94 unique listings with a median of about US$205 (roughly €181), quartiles US$103–325, and nothing above US$873.
Dealer retail sits well above the eBay-style market: 31 Simon & Halbig dolls on a US doll marketplace had a median of US$975, half between US$475 and US$1,350, topping out at US$2,495 for a 36-inch mold 939. Dealer pricing bundles restoration, a return privilege and accountability — which is why the same doll can be a US$400 eBay listing and a US$1,000 dealer listing.
LiveAuctioneers holds 2,997 past price results for "simon halbig" plus 70 upcoming lots from the 17 October 2026 toy auction in Ladenburg, Germany. Realised prices there sit behind a subscription, so we do not quote them; the published estimates still show where the trade values pieces — €650–1,300 for a model 1159 teenager, €750–1,500 for a rare circa-1885 model, €450–900 for an 80 cm mold 1488.
Mold by Mold: What Actually Sells
These are the asking medians from the same measured set, US and German listings combined.
- 1079 (DEP) — median US$520 across 9 live listings, quartiles US$400–814, up to US$1,500. The most common character-face mold, and the most copied: a complete 18-inch DEP 1079 in original clothes asks around US$516; excellent examples in Victorian dress US$779–845.
- 1078 — median US$265 across 7 listings (US$141–463). The 1079's smaller sister; 9½-inch children and 88 cm rarities both exist, and size is the price difference.
- 126 — median US$181 across 33 listings, the most frequently listed mold we found: a K&R/S&H 126 baby asks €200 in Germany, an 80 cm example sits in a German catalogue, and a black character 126 asked US$2,445 in the US — same mold, 13× price gap.
- 117 / 117n ("Mein Liebling") — median US$172 across 10 listings but a top ask of US$1,590 for a black K&R 117n character doll. Condition and skin tone decide everything on this face.
- 115 A / 116 A — median US$108 across 4 listings; dealer retail for a 16-inch 115 A Phillip runs US$1,295–1,395. The gap is whether the body is the original K&R child body.
- 1159 — the "teenage" mold, in 24-inch and 55 cm versions; 24-inch examples sold through US auction in 2023 and 2025, and a 55 cm example carries a €650–1,300 estimate in the October 2026 Ladenburg sale.
- 1009 — median US$575 across 3 listings, top US$1,333; dealer retail for a 20-inch 1009 is US$850. A dolly-face mold from 1889, black or white, socket head, open or closed mouth.
- 949 / 939 / 886 / 1279 — the all-bisque "mignonette" bracket: a 7-inch all-bisque 886 with strapped boots asks US$2,195; a 7-inch closed-mouth 949 on an 11-piece body asks US$1,995; a 22-inch 939 asks US$1,245 and a 36-inch 939 US$2,495. Small is not cheap here — small, fully jointed and all-bisque is.
- 1249 — median US$84 across 4 listings, dealer asks US$895–1,050 for a dressed 28–29½-inch "Santa". Big and common: the doll must be exceptional to leave the low hundreds.
- Reproductions — 22 listings marked reproduction or replica had a median of US$73, the cheapest asking US$12. If your doll copies a 151, 949 or 1329, that is your bracket — and the most common mispricing we see.
How to Read a Simon & Halbig Mark
Simon & Halbig was founded in 1869 by Wilhelm Simon and Carl Halbig at Gräfenhain and Hidburghausen in Thuringia, began making doll heads in 1875, and was bought by Kämmer & Reinhardt in 1920 — production under the S&H name ended in 1932. Like every German porcelain works, they made heads, not bodies; the bodies came from other firms, which is why body quality varies so much on genuine dolls.
Markings to look for, in the order that decides value:
- The mark itself. "S & H" with or without a star, or the full "Simon & Halbig". A star alone in a circle with a letter is a different maker — do not assume it is S&H.
- The mold number. 1078, 1079, 126, 1159, 1009, 939, 949, 1299, 1329, 1349, 1488 and so on. This is the number that decides the price band, and it is stamped or incised at the back of the head or on the shoulder plate.
- The size number. A number after the mold number (e.g. "1078 Germany S & H 16") is a size code, not a second mold — an 88 cm size-16 doll is a different animal from a 9½-inch size-1.
- "DEP" or "déposé" — a French deposit mark used when the head was registered for the French market. A dating aid, not a value multiplier on its own.
- "Germany" — the country stamp required to import to the US from the 1890s. Most S&H heads carry it; its absence on an otherwise correct head is worth a question.
- **"K * R" or "K & R"** with an S&H mark means the head was made by Simon & Halbig for Kämmer & Reinhardt — 115 A, 116 A, 117n, 121 and 126 are the numbers to know, and those dolls usually beat a plain S&H of the same size.
- "AHW" for Adolf Hülss, Waltershausen — S&H also produced for Hülss, and those heads appear in German auction catalogues as Simon & Halbig for AHW.
The practical test: a genuine head is bisque (unglazed matte) on a plaster pate, with tight eye sockets and a mold number that fits a documented series. Reproduction heads are glossier, heavier in the wrong places, and sit at the bottom of the range — often sold as "head only", which is the second giveaway.
What Kills the Price
Our measured set shows the same five factors pushing dolls from three figures into the low tens and back:
- Head only, no doll. Reproduction 115/A and 116/A heads, size 8, asked US$25–430. A head is a craft supply; a whole doll is a collectible.
- Recast or reproduction heads. 22 listings, median US$73.
- Cracks, chips and hairline splits. Sellers who note "TLC", "needs eye work" or a "chip at the opening" price 40–60% below intact examples: a 15-inch 126 baby needing eye work asked US$13 against a US$181 median.
- Replacement bodies and modern wigs. An original composition kid body with the maker's label is worth multiples of a modern replacement, which is why auction lots advertise "original body" at all.
- Wrong-size expectations. A 6-inch 1079 and an 80 cm 1079 are both "1079" and nowhere near the same price; size codes are the whole game.
A Ten-Minute Pricing Routine
- Photograph the back of the head, the mark, the size number and the body label — in that order.
- Search the mold number alone on sold listings in your country, then repeat on eBay Germany (`simon halbig 1079 puppe`): our measured German median was 18% below the US median.
- Check dealer retail for the same mold. Complete, dressed, originally bodied — the dealer number is your realistic ceiling; head-only or repaired — ignore the dealer tier entirely.
- Deduct for every flaw you can see: cracks, repaint, non-original wig, replacement hands, missing pate.
- Compare at least six listings with the same mold and a similar height before settling on a number. Median beats one screenshot from a hopeful seller every time.
If you want a second opinion on a specific doll, ask us — we will tell you which details we would look at first. See our Simon & Halbig 1079 antique German bisque doll for how we describe mark, mold and measure.
For the wider picture, see our guides on German porcelain doll marks, what your antique doll is worth, Kestner doll values and bisque versus composition.
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Related reading: Kämmer & Reinhardt doll values in 2026, mold by mold — measured from 122 live eBay US listings (median US$225), 75 in Germany (median US$187), 38 dealer listings (median US$1,195) and 753 past auction results, plus how to read the K * R star mark and the reproduction traps.
Related reading: Heubach doll value: Gebrüder vs Koppelsdorf marks & prices — we measured 154 live Heubach listings on eBay in 2026. Heubach Koppelsdorf shoulder-heads cluster near US$60–200, while Gebrüder Heubach art-character dolls (the pouty 7246 above all) ask US$300–1,500. The guide covers the two unrelated factories, the sunburst/square mark vs the horseshoe, and the 60-second check that puts a doll in the right price band.
Related reading: Bru doll value: Circle Dot, Bébé Breveté & Jne R marks — we measured 175 Bru listings on eBay in 2026 and found only about 26 were actually Bru dolls. Genuine Circle-Dot and Bébé Breveté examples ask US$9,500–21,949, while reproductions and keyword-stuffed German dolls sit under US$400. The guide covers the marks, the sizes and the 60-second authenticity check.
Related reading: Jumeau doll value: Tête Jumeau marks & 2026 prices — of 304 eBay listings mentioning Jumeau, only 34 were actually Jumeau dolls. Genuine examples median US$1,131, while the SFBJ successor-company dolls most often sold under the name median just US$237. The guide covers the EJ, EJA, Déposé and red Tête Jumeau marks, the mould numbers, and the auction records that top US$26,000.
Related reading: SFBJ doll value: marks, moulds & 2026 prices — SFBJ was the 1899 alliance that absorbed Jumeau and Bru. Across 109 current eBay listings, dolls marked SFBJ or Unis France median US$228, while genuine Jumeau-marked dolls median US$1,296 — about 5.7× for a doll that looks almost identical. The guide covers the SFBJ, Unis France and Tête Jumeau marks, the moulds worth chasing (236, 251, 301) and the 12% of listings that are reproductions.
Related reading: Armand Marseille 390 doll value & marks guide — the 390 is the mould most A.M. collections start with, and the most commonly found Marseille socket head from 1900 to 1938. Across 163 current listings it medians US$125, with only 15% asking over US$300; the guide reads the 390 and 390n stamps, the D.R.G.M. 246/1 design number, the A-series size codes (A9M is quoted at both 19 and 22.8 inches by different sellers), and shows what the 390 makes against the 370 and the googly 323.