If one of your hobbies is doing detective work to scout out the most-wanted items at estate sales and thrift stores, you know the excitement of the thrill of the hunt. Finding a highly valuable antique or collectible in a thrift store can be a great feeling. If you have an interest in collectible and vintage dolls, second-hand shopping is a great place to look for them, as you can seek out these valuable items at thrift stores.

Some people have an interest in finding rare or valuable Barbie or American Girl dolls. However, if you want a truly vintage and valuable item, you should definitely buy antique bisque dolls if you can find them at the thrift store. These are delicate collector’s items, making them especially challenging to find in good condition. Bisque dolls were popular throughout the 1800s and into the early 1900s, making many of them well over a century old. Manufacturers in France and Germany were the primary sources for them, increasing the challenge of finding one in great shape in a thrift store in the United States.

Some people mistake bisque for porcelain dolls, which makes finding actual bisque dolls at a second-hand store additionally challenging. However, there’s always a chance someone was cleaning out an old house and had no idea what they found, donating the collector’s item to a thrift store. Learn more about how to recognize the key signs that indicate you’re holding a bisque doll, as well as the differences between bisque and porcelain designs.

If you find yourself holding an older-style doll inside a thrift store, how do you know if you have a bisque? This doll consists of bisque porcelain, which is a type of white porcelain that contains a matte, or non-glossy, finish. By not adding glaze to the material and keeping the dull, soft-looking finish, the bisque doll has a more realistic skin tone than what was available with other dolls common during that time. The realistic look made bisque dolls very popular during the time they were actively made. The bisque technique was primarily used for sculptural and decorative pieces, as manufacturers knew the piece wouldn’t be subject to rough treatment and they could skip the glazing process that added a layer of protection.

At least a couple dozen German and French manufacturers are known to have made bisque dolls, meaning it can be difficult to identify the piece by a manufacturer’s marking alone. As with pottery, each manufacturer had its own mark. Look for a mark on the back of the doll’s neck or head or on the bottom of the feet. You could then look up the mark in an internet search.

Another identifying characteristic is that these dolls frequently had bisque porcelain heads only. The rest of the body usually consisted of fabric or leather and was filled with sawdust and other materials. The fragility of the unglazed bisque porcelain discouraged manufacturers from making feet and legs of bisque, because the arms and legs would likely be subject to rough treatment during play.

The biggest difference between bisque and porcelain vintage dolls is the type of finish in the porcelain. Compared to the bisque piece’s soft, flesh-like finish, the porcelain dolls all have a glazed finish. Consequently many people refer to them as china dolls. Because the skin and face have a white, glossy finish, the china doll does not have the realistic skin tones found with bisque. The glazed porcelain in the china doll is more durable, so it’s common for these collector’s items to have porcelain arms and legs, although not all of them do. Meanwhile, bisque dolls rarely use this delicate porcelain in the arms and legs.

Another difference between bisque and porcelain dolls is the current value. You might find a rare bisque doll for as much as $50,000, but most of them are worth up to $500. You might find some porcelain dolls with values up to $10,000, but some of them may only sell for $5 or $10. Body condition, clothing condition, age, and whether anyone tried to refurbish the original materials all play a role in the potential value. With all this in mind, if you find a vintage bisque collector’s item in good condition at a low price at a thrift store, it’s worth purchasing, and you can later try to determine if it’s an old household item that might be more valuable than you think.