Hummels as Collectibles

Hummels are porcelain figures created on drawings primarily of children in rural Germany in the early 1900s.  The porcelain manufacturer Goebel created figurines with the approval of the convent where the nun who had done the drawings lived.  By the 1980's the figurines of small children with umbrellas and animals going about their every day lives were very popular.  You can see pictures of Hummels by searching for the term in any search engine.

On my first trip to Germany in the early 1980's I didn't have the budget to buy Hummel figurines.  By the time I returned to Germany in the mid 1990's, the prices hadn't decreased but I decided to buy some figures.  One of my first was the figure Book Worm which was of a girl sitting and reading a book.  It appealed to my lifestyle!  Shortly after that I joined the U.S. based Hummel collectors club. Part of the yearly membership dues included a small Hummel created just for members.  My most expensive Hummel is of a boy sitting with an umbrella behind him that I bought at Epcot in Walt Disney World for $300.  You can spend much more on some of the figures.  In fact, some of the more intricate hand-painted items cost $1200-$1500.  The least expensive are probably $50-$100.  I collect them because they speak to me of Germany and children and I like the fine detail.

However, here we come to the problem with some collectibles.  People of my vintage like Hummels.  The Goebel company found marketing the finely painted figurines difficult to younger generations of customers who want a modern streamlined life style.  In other words, those in their twenties aren't interested in spending any amount of money to have a dusty Hummel around the house.  I went to an estate auction where a table of Hummels were at bid.  I could have my choice of any of them for my highest bid of $105 each.  I chose three.  Each of them was priced (in the Hummel catalog) at more than my most expensive Hummel of $300.  The actual value of a collectible is only what someone will pay.  After this experience, I have decided not to spend a lot of money in future on Hummel.  I think they will continue to decline in value as time goes by and more and more of them appear in estate auctions.  The Goebel company has stopped making Hummels.  Some of their artisans are still making the Hummels but not through Goebel.