Most Goebel figurines that are not Hummels sell for about $5-40 each as of October 2026. A Friar Tuck monk shaker or creamer brings about $5-25, a Co-Boy gnome or a Charlot Byj Redhead about $10-40, and a common Goebel songbird about $5-35. The pieces worth more are 1950s Disney figures marked DIS, at about $50-150 each, large birds and animals, and complete early sets.
Goebel made far more than Hummels. The firm was founded in 1871 in Oeslau, now part of Rödental in Bavaria, and over the 20th century it produced monks, gnomes, birds, dogs, Disney characters, artist series and miniatures in large numbers. The base mark dates the piece, the mold number prefix names the line, and with condition those decide nearly every price.
Quick answer
- Friar Tuck and Cardinal Tuck monks: about $5-25 per piece; decanter sets and banks with all parts about $25-80, as of October 2026.
- Co-Boy gnomes and Charlot Byj Redheads: about $10-40 each; mixed lots often sell for less per piece.
- Goebel birds (CV numbers): common songbirds $5-35; large parrots and pheasants roughly $30-100.
- 1950s Disney figures (DIS numbers): about $50-150 each, with full Snow White sets in the low hundreds.
- A crown or full bee mark adds to any line; a "Germany" mark from 1991 on usually means a later, more common piece.
How do you identify and value a Goebel figurine, step by step?
Turn it over, read the mark and the mold number, then check condition. That order gets you to a price in a few minutes.
- Find the trademark. Look under the base for a printed or incised mark: a crown over WG, a bee inside a V, a small bee with "W. Germany", or the word Goebel on its own. The table below dates each one.
- Read the mold number and its prefix. Non-Hummel Goebel pieces carry a letter code before the number. DIS means Disney, CV is the code on many birds, Byj marks the Charlot Byj children, and Friar Tuck items carry their own short letter codes for the kitchen shapes. An incised "Hum" number and an "M.I. Hummel" signature mean it is a Hummel, which is a separate market covered in our Hummel figurines guide.
- Ignore the incised year at first. A year such as "1957" pressed into the base is usually the design's copyright date. The trademark tells you when your piece was made.
- Look at the feet. On Friar Tuck pieces, some collectors separate monks with painted bare toes from those with plain dark feet and treat the toes version as earlier. Use it as a hint only; the base mark is the reliable date.
- Check condition in raking light. Run a finger over ears, noses, beaks, tails and hat brims, and look for crazing and glued breaks.
- Count the parts. A Friar Tuck bank needs its key or stopper, a decanter its cups and head stopper, a condiment set its tray. Missing parts cut the price by half or more.
What do the Goebel marks mean and when were they used?
The mark under the base dates the piece within a few years. According to Antique Trader's trademark guide, Goebel used the same series of crown and bee marks on all of its products, not just Hummels, until about mid-1991, so the familiar Hummel dating works on monks, birds and Disney pieces too.
| Mark | Approximate years | What it looks like | Effect on value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crown over WG | About 1934 to 1950 | A crown with WG below, sometimes incised | The highest premium; early pieces are scarce |
| Full bee | About 1940 to 1959, mostly seen on 1950s pieces | A large bee flying inside a V; the bee gets smaller from about 1956 | Clear premium, often 1.5 to 2 times a later example |
| Stylized bee | About 1958 to 1972 | A neat, small bee inside the V, often with "W. Germany" | Modest premium |
| Three line mark | About 1964 to 1972 | Stylized bee with three lines of text beside it | Small premium |
| Last bee | About 1972 to 1979 | A small bee sitting above the V, with "Goebel W. Germany" | Baseline for most finds |
| Missing bee (Goebel, no bee) | About 1979 to 1991 | "Goebel" and "W. Germany", the bee gone | Baseline, very common |
| Goebel Germany | 1991 onward | "Germany" without "West", as reunification took effect | Usually the most common and lowest |
"U.S. Zone Germany" printed beside a crown mark points to the late 1940s and adds interest. For other German and English factory marks, our guide on how to read pottery marks goes further.
What are Friar Tuck monks worth?
Most Friar Tuck pieces sell for about $5-25 each as of October 2026. The line dates from the 1950s and grew to a long list of items, nearly all of them useful things in the shape of the jolly brown-robed monk: salt and pepper shakers, cream jugs in several sizes, mustard pots, banks, bells, egg timers, decanters with shot cups, ashtrays and calendars. A red-robed version, Cardinal Tuck, was made alongside it in smaller numbers.
Sold results are modest. Bells and small dishes usually sell for about $15-25, and one appraisal on Mearto put a single condiment holder at $5-10, after finding a group of eight pieces and a tray that sold together for about $45. Complete decanter sets with every cup, banks with their key, egg timers and the larger cream jugs sit at about $25-80, and Cardinal Tuck pieces tend to sell above the brown version of the same item.
What are Co-Boy gnomes and Charlot Byj figurines worth?
Co-Boy gnomes and Byj children both sell for about $10-40 each in good condition. Sales are steady but thin, and lots of four to eight pieces often sell for $30-70 in total, which is less per piece than single listings ask.
Co-Boy is Goebel's series of bearded gnomes in work clothes, each with an alliterative name and a trade: Utz the Banker and Ben the Blacksmith are typical. Dated examples run from the early 1970s into the 1980s, and early ones with a bee mark and paper label sell most easily. Asking prices run from about $12 to $80, but realized prices sit mostly in the lower half.
Charlot Byj pieces are the red-haired and blonde children designed by the American greeting card artist. According to her Wikipedia entry, the first figurine, Strike, was designed in 1957 with Goebel sculptor Arthur Moeller, and more than 100 different figurines were made before the series ended in 1988. The main reference is Goebel Figurines & Prints by Charlot Byj by Rocky Rockholt (Schiffer, 2000), though its prices reflect the market of 25 years ago.
Are Goebel Disney figurines valuable?
Yes, more than most Goebel lines. Goebel took a Disney license around 1950, with Bambi, Snow White, Pinocchio and other characters following over the 1950s and later. These pieces carry a DIS mold number and usually a full bee mark. Single figures sell for about $50-150 as of October 2026: typical eBay sales for a single 1950s character such as Pinocchio or Bambi fall in that band, and sales are thin enough that one listing can move the range.
Complete sets climb, but less than many expect. A set of eight Goebel Snow White figures sold at Gorringe's in May 2024 for £170, in a lot that also held tins and cups, and a Disneyana dealer asks $500 for a 1950s set in very good condition. Expect roughly $150-500 for a full set.
From the 1980s Goebel also made Disney miniatures. According to his Wikipedia entry, Robert Olszewski ran Goebel Miniatures in California from 1980 to 1994 and made 360 figurines and displays, including Snow White, Pinocchio and Cinderella pieces. Common Olszewski miniatures sell for about $20-50; signed first editions with their boxes bring more. For Disney beyond porcelain, see our Disney pins guide.
What sells and what does not: a value table
| Goebel line | Typical marks found | Typical sold price, good condition | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friar Tuck shakers, jugs, dishes | Full bee to Goebel W. Germany | $5-25 | Full bee pieces at the top |
| Friar Tuck decanters, banks, egg timers | Full bee to last bee | $25-80 | Must be complete |
| Cardinal Tuck (red robe) | Stylized bee onward | $10-60 | Scarcer than the brown monk |
| Co-Boy gnomes | Stylized bee to Goebel | $10-40 | Lots sell for less per piece |
| Charlot Byj Redheads and blondes | 1957 to 1988 marks | $10-40 | Larger and early pieces higher |
| Songbirds (CV numbers) | Stylized bee to Goebel | $5-35 | Many sell under $15 |
| Large birds, parrots, pheasants | 1960s and 1970s | $30-100 | Sales thin; condition critical |
| Disney figures (DIS numbers) | Full bee mostly | $50-150 | Bambi and Snow White most common |
| Disney Snow White full set | Full bee | $150-500 | Sales thin; condition of every piece counts |
| Olszewski miniatures | 1980s and 1990s | $20-50 | Signed, boxed first editions more |
| Crown mark figurines of any line | Crown WG | $40-200+ | Varies widely; worth a closer look |
A worked example
Say you clear a kitchen and find four brown monks: two shakers, a cream jug and a bank. Under each base is a small bee above a V with "W. Germany", the last bee mark, so they were made in the 1970s. The bank still has its stopper. The monks wear black shoes, the later version. One shaker has a small chip on the hood.
The shakers are worth about $5-10 each, the chipped one less, the jug about $10-15 and the complete bank about $20-30. The group sells for roughly $35-60 as one lot. With a full bee mark, it would sit nearer the top of each range.
How does condition change the price?
Condition matters more than age, because so many survive.
| Condition | Effect |
|---|---|
| Perfect, no chips or crazing, original label | The full prices above |
| Paper label or original box present | Adds about 10-25 percent |
| Small chip on a tip or edge | Deduction of about 30-50 percent |
| Glued break or restoration | Deduction of about 50-80 percent |
| Missing stopper, key, cup or tray | Deduction of about 50 percent on a set piece |
| Heavy crazing or staining | Deduction of about 20-40 percent |
| Paint loss on the face | Deduction of about 30 percent |
Common mistakes
- Treating every Goebel as a Hummel. Without the M.I. Hummel signature and a Hum number, it is a different and usually cheaper market.
- Pricing from asking prices. Friar Tuck and Co-Boy pieces sit on marketplaces for months at prices that never sell. Look at sold results.
- Splitting sets. A decanter, its cups and its stopper sell for more together than apart.
- Using 1990s price guides, which reflect a market with far more figurine collectors than today.
- Missing the Disney mark. A small Bambi or dwarf with DIS on the base is worth several times a Goebel bird of the same size.
How WorthPic reads Goebel figurine photos
WorthPic runs on the newest and most capable AI model available, tuned for exactly this kind of identification. From a clear photo of the base it reads the trademark, the mold number and its prefix, the "Hum" or "DIS" code, the Byj signature and any paper label, which together date the piece and place it in the right line. From the front and sides it recognizes the design and looks for visible chips and repairs. It then places the piece against current sold prices for that line and mark and gives an honest US dollar range with a most likely figure. What it cannot know from a photo is a hairline crack hidden under the glaze or a skilled restoration, and it will say so. It identifies and estimates. It does not authenticate, grade or appraise. A crown mark piece, a full Disney set or a large bird is worth confirming with a specialist dealer or auction house before you sell.
What to photograph
- The base, flat and in focus, showing the full mark, mold number and any year.
- The front and back of the figurine in daylight against a plain background.
- Close-ups of the tips: ears, noses, hats, beaks, tails.
- The feet on a Friar Tuck monk.
- Any paper label, original box or set parts such as cups, stoppers and keys.
When to get it looked at in person
Most Goebel figurines do not need an expert: a sold-listing check with the mold number and mark is enough. Get a second opinion for crown mark pieces, full Disney sets with full bee marks, large birds and animals over about 10 inches, and early or unusual Friar Tuck shapes. A dealer in German porcelain, a regional auction house with decorative arts sales, or a collector group will know the current market. If you are clearing a whole cabinet of figurines, the same advice in our guides to Precious Moments and old china dishes applies: sell the few better pieces singly and the rest in lots.
Sources
- Antique Trader: How to identify Hummel trademarks: the crown and bee mark dates and the note that Goebel used them on all its products until about mid-1991.
- Goebel Porzellan: about us: the 1871 founding in Oeslau-Rödental and current ownership.
- Wikipedia: Charlot Byj: the 1957 first figurine, Arthur Moeller, more than 100 designs and the 1988 end of the series.
- Wikipedia: Robert W. Olszewski: Goebel Miniatures from 1980 to 1994, 360 pieces and the Disney miniatures.
- Gorringe's lot 359, May 2024: a set of eight Goebel Snow White figures with other memorabilia, sold for £170.
- The Local: New firm picks up Hummel production: Goebel's exit from Hummel production and the move to a new Rödental firm.