DAM Limited Edition Trolls

The LIMITED EDITION group of troll animals were also offered for sale by the Norfin Fan club (a total of 400 pieces each of– cow, elephant, lion and horse). Per the advertisement, these replicas were made from Thomas DAM’s original 1965 animal series. While there are definitely vintage cows, elephants and lions that were made in the 1960’s, I confess that none of the DAM collectors I know of, has ever had (or seen) a vintage DAM horse that was made in the 1960’s other than the large American made DAM donkey, which has a different body & facial sculpting.

The LE troll animals ALL have brown plastic eyes and synthetic hair, the one exception is the HORSE who has genuine Icelandic wool hair. The LE troll animals also came with gold paper tags that had the DAM logo on one side and LIMITED EDITION on the other side (see photos of tags below). Shown below are examples of MINT LE animal trolls with their original tags and bags, that are still owned by the original collector who purchased them either directly thru the club order form or from a collectible specialty toy store back in the early 1990’s when they were released;

The DAM boy & girl troll doll came in different versions. Even though the original ad states that the dolls are replicas of the 1965 version in all details. Many collectors think there were two body versions produced in this series- one with arms out (the traditional pose) and one with arms down. It should be noted that vintage 1960’s DAM troll dolls were not sold with an arms down body style. The arms out bodies are exact replicas of the 1961 Lyketrold body (not 1965 as the ad states). Another difference is that the LE’s have “cone” shaped heads (see photo below of bald LE), the vintage DAM trolls from the 1960’s had “flat” surfaced heads (where the wool pelt is attached). Some trolls (arms out version only), do have the 1961 stamp on the bottom of the foot (see photos for examples), others just have a circle. LE trolls have the Thomas DAM logo on their back . . . but the logo by itself does not distinguish a troll as an LE, because the same back stamp can be found on many other DAM Trolls.

To make matters more complex: some of the girls had non-removable jumper-dress with thong and shirt, others had a two-piece removable felt jumper-dress with shirt, while other girls had only a simple felt dress which was glued at the back. Boys came with non-removable shorts with a strap and a shirt with either short or long hair. Most of the LE boys had synthetic hair, but a few boys have surfaced with real Icelandic wool hair. All girls had the long Icelandic wool hair. Some trolls have the orange-yellow glass eyes (these trolls were made way BEFORE the “limited edition” came out in 1990’s) and others have the brown, dark yellow or dark orange plastic eyes. I suspect LE- boys and girls with arms out, that have brown plastic eyes are the true LE’s that were intended to be part of the limited series. I am baffled why some with arms down, have also appeared with the GOLD Tag, unless they ran out of arms outward?

BOY Trolls- shown are several examples of the boys. Notice that they came with both short (cropped) or long hair (synthetic and wool). They can be found with arms outward (like the 1961 Lyketrold version) as well as arms down and at the sides. The picture at the left shows two boys with the arms out. Boy trolls have the large pointy ears. Only the head turns. Most have brown plastic eyes, but some also have glass. While they are consistent in having felt shirts and pants, the straps can be either over the left or right shoulder. Also worthy to note is some of these had a brown air-brushing above their eyes (see above photo of boys with short hair and arms down). I

It should also be mentioned that some of the LE’s just have a white sticker on their foot that says “MADE IN DENMARK” .

[pictures shown are posted with permission from current owner]

GIRL Trolls- shown are some examples of the girls. Girls had long hair. Like the boys, they came with arms outward (like the 1961 Lyketrold version) as well as arms down and at the sides. Only the head turns. Most have brown plastic eyes, but some also have glass. Girl trolls have the smaller more rounded ears. Dresses were either a plain felt one-piece dresses (which was glued in the back), or a non-removable jumper-shirt (with thong) and open shirt or a simple removable jumper-skirt (no thong) with open shirt combination.

[pictures shown are posted with permission from current owner]

The LE boys & girls are great finds for DAM collectors. They re-sell on the secondary market for anywhere from $75 (USD) and up depending on the condition they are in and if they still have their original hair, clothing and the elusive gold paper LE tags. It should also be mentioned that some of the LE’s just have a white sticker on their foot that says “MADE IN DENMARK” .

Without the signature GOLD TAG, it is very hard to prove which troll IS one of the limited 500 (?) pcs of the LE’s and which are those made prior to implementation of the LE series (that use the same arms down troll). I often wonder if it is only the arms OUTWARD that are genuine LE’s.

Limited Edition ELEPHANT Troll- shown at the right is an elephant with his original plastic bag and gold LE tag. He has synthetic pink hair on his head and brown plastic eyes. I believe some of these elephants may have been sold with a synthetic light yellow hair too. These elephants came with a felt scarf on their neck, only the head is moveable. Elephant stands about 6 1/4” high and is marked– MADE IN DENMARK DAM PATENT

Limited Edition LION Troll- shown at the right is a lion with his original plastic bag and gold LE tag. He has brown plastic eyes, synthetic hair on his mane and tail. His body style is similar to the European DAM lion (low short body, close to the ground), only the head is moveable. Lion stands about 4 3/4” high and is marked on his right foot– Made in Denmark Gjol & on his left foot– DAM PATENT

Limited Edition COW Troll- shown at the right is the LE cow with her original plastic bag and gold LE tag. She has synthetic light beige hair on her head however, some of these cows can be found with darker hair color both have brown plastic eyes. These cows came with a felt scarf on their neck, only the head is moveable. Cow stands about 6” high and is marked on her back right foot– MADE IN DENMARK Thomas DAM

Some DAM troll collectors assume that the LE idea came from the DAM company and there are even “rumors” that there was an European version of the LE’s produced, however, I contacted the DAM factory several years ago and was informed by their CEO that the LE idea was implemented by the E.F.S. Marketing Associates Inc (even the gold tag shows the year 1990 and says it is “distributed” by the E.F.S Marketing Assoc. Inc). There is no “European LE” version. Scan of the original advertisement from E.F.S. Marketing Associates and the order form that appeared in their SUMMER 1991 Norfin News letter that was sent to fan club members is shown below. At the time the newsletter was printed pictures of the Limited Edition replicas were not available and so they used pictures of the actual “vintage” trolls (from 1960’s with genuine Icelandic wool hair and glass eyes) as samples.

Although the sample pictures in the advertisement show a leather collar & bell on the cow and elephant, the actual LE replicas came with a FELT scarf. Many members/collectors thought that the “replicas” would be just like the vintage trolls and be faithful reproductions complete with the genuine Icelandic wool hair and glass eyes, it was a little disappointing for many who received the reproduction trolls which had the fake hair and plastic eyes.

The order form allowed club members to order a maximum of TWO of the model 504 Troll (boy or girl) and only ONE of each style of the troll animals at $50.00 (USD) each, due to the limited quantities. Offer was only good while supplies lasted. Specialty toy stores charged higher prices on these LE’s (around $59.99 USD each, plus shipping charges).

Group photo of all the Limited Edition DAM troll animals. These LE animals are prized by many DAM collectors they originally were offered at ~$50 (USD) each when they first came out. But now they re-sell on the secondary market for anywhere from $75 (USD) and up. The horse however, usually goes for a much higher price (four to sometimes seven times higher) than the other LE troll animals.

Final fetching $$$ on any of these LE’s depends not only on the condition, but if the troll comes with all the original accessories (especially the GOLD LE tag) and how much a buyer is willing to pay for the troll.

If you’re not sure if your Troll has glass or plastic eyes, it’s easy enough to twist head off and then put it back on. Photo on top row show outside view of eyes. Bottom shows eyes inside the head: far left is troll with the orange-yellow GLASS eyes, middle photo shows the brown PLASTIC eyes and the last photos show the dark yellow & orange PLASTIC eyes. Notice the pupils on the glass eyes appear slightly smaller than those with the plastic eyes.

EAR Stamp Debate—Many collectors thought that the “EAR stamp” was a unique stamp which did not appear on any other Dam Trolls except the LE’s (they all have it – even the trolls with synthetic hair) – it is a circular stamp located behind the left ear, at the base of the ear (see stamp photo at the left, it says © DAM THINGS Denmark). Many collectors thought if a troll does not have this stamp, then it is probably not an LE. A few trolls that look-like the LE’s have surfaced occasionally without the ear stamp, it’s hard to say if these oddities were truly a part of the LE series or not. Shown at the left is a photo of a boy and girl with NO ear stamp, yet they wear the same clothing as other LE’s with the ear stamp. Both were obtained on the secondary market, so it is really hard to verify if they were purchased from the Norfin Fan club with the gold LE tag (as shown on the boy’s wrist in the photo at the left). It’s possible that the gold paper tag could’ve been put on him at a later date, as the gold tags on all LE’s (troll dolls and animals) were identical and easily interchangeable.

Also note worthy is the boy in this photo has “synthetic” black hair not Icelandic wool. Several years ago I personally had an LE boy with white synthetic hair which I later sold.

[pictures shown are posted with permission from current owner]

Top photo shows the “cone” head which is common to the LE’s as well as the modern DAM trolls. Two of my LE boys have paper sticker on foot—MADE IN DENMARK

Body stamps/marks;- L-R First photo shows the common BACK stamp (found on the LE’s, as well as many other DAM trolls). The middle photo, is the unique stamp found behind the left ear of some of the trolls. The last photo is the less common 1961 (raised) stamp found on the right foot of some of LE the “arms out” body-style trolls (eg-those which are replicas of the vintage “Lyketrold” dolls from 1960’s).

DAM Hobby Horse Head– Photos above obtained from the DAM website shows a rare hobby horse head sold only in Denmark that was made and sold in the ~1970’s. These hobby horse heads go for $900 (USD) and up. There are sculpting similarities on this head that match the LE Horses shows above.

The unusual ear stamp long thought to be a hallmark of LE’s may not hold true any more. Above are a boy & girl LE with NO left ear stamps

Limited Edition Thomas DAM troll girl & boy with LE cow, shown with their gold LE tags

[picture used with permission from current owner]

In the 1990’s the DAM company manufactured a LIMITED EDITION group of troll dolls and troll animals, as requested by E.F.S. Marketing Associates (an officially authorized DAM distributer located in Farmingdale, NY) these LE’s were geared for sale to the Norfin FAN Club members. These limited editions came with gold paper tags that had the DAM logo on one side and LIMITED EDITION on the other side. The original advertisement states that the Norfin club- had only 500 pieces of each (boy & girl) and were offering them to fan club members before they offered them to anyone else (eg– collectible doll stores & other specialty stores) for $50 (USD) each. A limit of 2 pcs was allowed per order with no choice in hair color or style. Also offered were some of the animals which were limited to 400 pcs of each style. The LE’s were advertised as being exact replicas of those trolls made by DAM in the mid– 1960’s. Many collectors incorrectly assumed that only 500 pcs were made, but the advertisement doesn’t really say this (see scan of original advertisement at bottom of this page). The Norfin club was offering these trolls and simply HAD that quantity to re-sell AT that time. The true number of these LE trolls made by DAM is unknown and could be much higher than previously thought, or could possibly be limited quantities of all the different styles or variations within the series. It has come to my attention that some of these trolls were produced BEFORE being marketed by E.F.S. Marketing company as “limited edition” only the LE’s sold with the GOLD TAG are TRUE LE’s——unfortunately these tags could be easily lost.

Limited Edition- Thomas DAM Trolls