There are a lot of dolls being introduced in the market and they come in all sorts of colors, shapes, sizes and are made of different materials. One item that has been enjoyed by both children and adults which is considered to be a collectible item is the rag doll.

A rag doll is probably the softest one around and as long as manufacturers still produce clothing, there will be plenty of scraps around to make one.

The most famous of them all are the Raggedy Ann Dolls that first came out in 1915. It had brown hair and shoe button eyes. If you are an avid collector, you can probably buy one for a little over a thousand dollars.

Aside from Raggedy Ann, there is also the two headed Topsy Turvy doll. What is unique about this toy is that they have one head that is white and the other that is black. This was common among black children who were forbidden to have white dolls and so whenever someone would check on them, they would reveal the black side.

Babyland Rag is another rag doll collectible. Instead of using buttons for an eye or a nose, the faces were hand painted. If you are lucky, you could probably find one with an inscription telling you when it was patented or made. Since they have been around for a hundred years, this just goes to show that they do have value.

They are very ideal to have if you are focusing on a country style theme. This can be placed in the rocking chair or the couch which is very eye-appealing.

You might come across a faceless rag doll. If you happen to see one, this is what Amish children used to play with because although they were allowed to play with them, it was forbidden to have any faces. But since this looked dull, the kids would draw the eyes, mouth and nose using a pencil and then erase them before an adult would find out.

Another company that is not as old like those mentioned which also produces stuff animals and the rag doll is Steiff. It has a wide collection and you can get one for almost the same amount or even higher than the Raggedy Ann doll.

The nice thing about rag dolls is that they are soft and it does not have parts that could be swallowed by a child. This can be washed so it will look good as new if ever it gets wet in the rain.

You can even make your own version as there are websites and books that will teach you how to do it and offer various designs to choose from so you can make one instead of buying it from a seller. If it gets damaged, it can easily be patch up so this too can be passed on to the next generation.

But if you are very interested in collectible rag dolls, the best place to look is in an antique store and online. Two important things you have to do are to examine it first before you buy it and also do some research so you will know if you can trust the retailer.

So are rag dolls pieces of rug or collectible items? Given that they do have historical value, they must be otherwise no one will really care.