hummels

[femmegirl]

I was at my mom's recently and we were going through some old boxes that are in her basement. These things belonged to my dad's aunt and when she died he inherited all of it. My mom is now ready (my great aunt died in the early 80's) to divide it among the children so it does not sit in the basement anymore. There is a collection of hummels... according to my mom about 90 or so. Well I found the whole snow white and the seven dwarfs collection ( hummels) I want them because of what they are snow white . My sisters however would be upset if they are worth money and I got them. Any ideas as to how much they would be worth? any suggestions on how to tell my sisters if I get them?

thank you

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

My mother has a lot of Hummels she collected when we lived in Germany (my dad was stationed there in the 70s), but I don't think she has any Disney ones.

Check a local book store in the collectibles section for price guides on Disneyana or Hummels. I did a quick search on Barnes & Noble for "hummel guide" in the title and got 20 hits -- most of them are out of print and earlier editions of the same book, but they have two that are current and available for ordering.

Personally, I wouldn't even bring up the values. To me, that's tacky and is only going to lead to some severe fighting between you and your sisters. It sounds like your mother is the one making the decision, though. I would say let her know you are really interested in the Snow White & the Seven Dwarves Hummels in particular since you are a Disney fan. Then, she might divide out the Hummels between you and your sisters and include the Snow White ones in your share. If your sisters bring up the value part and that's all they're interested in, you might offer to take fewer Hummels at a lower total value than what your sisters get to get the Snow White ones.

 

[ivanova]

Don't know how your mom operates, but mine is totally anal about everyone getting an "even share" -- she would go so far as to divide the hummels so that not only was quantitiy the same among sisters but current value would be the same!! At the end she'd have a migraine.

And who is to say if you divided by value now that it won't change in 6 months or 6 years from now? And which value do you use? Original retail? Or current auction prices? Hard to say.

I think it would be easier for your mom to have each sister go through the hummels and list the ones she wants, in order of preference. Then have your mom divide the hummels equally based on what each sister wants (she'll need some kind of "tie breaker" in case all of you want the same items). And definitely keep sets together (like Snow & the 7)!!

If your sisters really bellyache alot about value your mom could sell all 90 of them on eBay and make herself a small fortune (BTW red-headed hummels are valued higher than non-red-heads).

 

[femmegirl]

thank you for your input. My mom wants to divide them equally. Honestly all but one of my sisters would be fine if she gave us the same number of hummels. The other one would find out what the current value is and then complain if her share was not as much as someone else's. I would be quite happy if she kept sets together and gave us the same number. I have not been able to find any books here that have the snow white collection listed. I am just trying to get an idea before she divides them up because she is asking for my help. She has boxes of things to go through and since none of her children live in the same area, it is not like we can sit with her and help. So I will look online at bookstores and see what I can find... if anyone has any other ideas as to where i can find a current value, I would appreciate it. Once again thanks for the input.

 

[ivanova]

You might want to try contacting Goebel (who makes the Hummels) and see if they can provide guidance for finding current prices.

 

[kidzmom3]

http://www.mihummel.com/index_reference.html
a website that may help you authenticate the hummel and tips for appraisal. I have never seen a disney themed hummel and was not aware that they made them. Are you sure its not a lennox?

 

[femmegirl]

thank you for the website... I looked there already... I can't find nothing. I know they are hummels because they have the hummel stamp the marking like all hummels do. My dad said she has had them ever since he can remember. So I know they are old and I know they are hummels. It has been a bare trying to figure out what they may be worth. Oh well. If I don't then my mom will have to make a decision as what she should do. She does not want to sell any of them and I don't either so I guess we can get a price on other things and not worry about the snow white stuff. Thanks again

 

[ivanova]

The more I think about this, the more I'm convinced Snow & the 7 are NOT actual Hummels.

Hummels are specifically crafted after drawings by Sister M.I. Hummel and have to be approved by the Coven. And the licensing is VERY strict, so I doubt Snow & the 7 could be called Hummels.

Snow & the 7 may have the look & feel of Hummels, but I think they would actually be Goebels (which is the company that makes Hummels).

Find one site that refers to Disney by Goebel: http://www.area51collectibles.com/disneybyhummel.html

Here's the actual website for Goebel: http://www.goebel.de/englisch/index-deutsch.htm

 

[flyinglizard]

Hello femmegirl,

Your problem is not so bad as you might imagine...

The most recent Tomart's Disneyana update that covered Goebel figures (No. 3, 1994), listed the dwarfs as having a value of between $25 - $75 each, with Snow White ranging between $50-$100.00.

Since that time, the power of eBay has lowered the values of many collectibles, like your "Hummels".

I would estimate your dwarfs current value to be between $35.00 and $60.00 each, depending of course, on the condition. The Snow White figure could probably get a higher price within the listed value range.

I would guess there are many other Goebel pieces in your Mom's collection that are worth more.

hth...

 

[femmegirl]

thank you... i was hoping they were not worth that much so I could have them without being accused of taking something worth a lot. I will talk to my mom. I would like to have them all appraised to see how much they are worth to at least have some insurance on the ones worth money. I know they are some worth over $20,000, but I don't think she had any of those, but i did find quite a few worth between 1500 and 10,000.

thank you all for your help. It is much appreciated

 

[SueEllen]

Just and FYI, there are definitely Disney "Hummels" not just Goebel figures. I have a couple, including the Minnie in the tree. It has been my experience that they sell for quite a bit. I was just in the Goebel store in Epcot, and most of the Disney Hummels started at $175.00 (this was for smaller ones) They started there and went up in price. I have not seen the Snow White and 7 Dwarfs set. I'll bet they are awesome! I also have some of the crystal Goebel stamped Disney figures.
Sue Ellen