There won’t be many 80s girls that didn’t own, or at least want to own, a My Little Pony toy when they were growing up. Amazingly, 150 million My Little Pony toys were sold in the 1980s alone, and they’re still being sold today, having first been revived in 1997 and then again for Generation Z in 2003. 100 million My Little Ponies were sold between 2003 and 2010, and a further relaunch happened in 2014, with the brand making a whopping $1 billion over the two years that followed.
But today we’re mainly focusing on the 1980s vintage pony toys, and we’re sure that many of you will have owned at least one of the original collection. Whilst toymakers Hasbro were constantly adding different collections of ponies to toy shop shelves, from flutter ponies and sea ponies to glow in the dark ponies, scented ponies and fuzzy ponies among many others, it’s the original collection that still holds the most special place in our hearts, and which also happens to be the most valuable.
1. Baby Medley – $915
If you’ve been clever enough to keep any of your My Little Ponies in their original Hasbro packaging then well done you, because that increases their worth significantly. For example, people will buy a rare Baby Medley Pony for as much as $915, if she comes with her original box and accessories.
Baby Medley was released in three distinct colour variations alongside her original mint green: an opalescent cream with ultra-light blue mane and tail, a silvery blue body with dark blue mane and tail, and a dark yellow body with light blonde hair. The four different colourways all fetch different amounts on the resale market, with yellow being the second-most valuable.
2. Skydancer – $650
Skydancer the pony shares her name with a classic 90s toy: those Skydancer fairy dolls that launched into the air from a pull-string base. However, this Year Two, Generation One Pegasus Pony was released in 1983-84 as part of the Rainbow Pony collection and was actually inspired by ballerinas.
People are asking for up to $650 for the vintage boxed version of this particular little pony! The price varies based on the condition of her mane and tail, as well as which region-specific version of the toy is being sold. Skydancer’s design varies hugely between locations, with her coat colour ranging from white to buttercream to tangerine, and her cutie mark occasionally including pink birds alongside the blue.
3. Baby Minty – $520
Even if your pony is not in its original Hasbro packaging then it could still now be worth a fair bit of cash. For example, owners of the rare Baby Minty Pony might get rather excited when we tell them how much she is now worth, as she often fetches as much as $520 on the resale market.
This pony you can see above is the second variation of Baby Minty, with the original variation having the same green body but a pure silver-white mane and tail. Neither one should be confused with the Generation Three Minty redesign, which has pale pink hair and a cutie mark that features three hard mint candies, rather than clovers.
4. Mommy Sunbright – $325
Are you lucky enough to still own the mummy, daddy and baby Sunbright pony toys? As part of the Generation 1 line of Family Friends and Family Baby Ponies, the Sunbrights, as well as the Berrytowns and Meadowsweets, are set apart by the horizontal striped gradients in their manes and tails.
This family crops up in the 1992 cartoon episode Ponies in Paradise, where Mr Sunbright makes a living as a pearl diver. This corresponds with his sailing boat cutie mark, as the whole family have marks that are beach or summer adjacent. As you can see above, Mummy Sunbright’s cutie mark is a shell and conch, while Baby Sunbright has a fish leaping out of the ocean. This particular family of toys is now being sold for up to $325 on auction sites such as eBay!
5. Majesty – $300
Majesty the unicorn is one of the most beloved Generation One ponies out there, in part because she was first released with the Dream Castle playset, the jewel in any pony fan’s collection. Majesty was the closest thing Gen One had to a protagonist, appearing frequently in the original comic book series and boasting powerful magic, from the ability to grant wishes to turning invisible.
Not only does she make her home in the Dream Castle, but she also lives there with Spike, her pet dragon. In the early My Little Pony books and comics, Majesty deals with the ponies’ mortal enemies by transforming them into trees and statues. One of these beautiful blue ponies was most recently sold for a tidy $300 on eBay!
6. Surprise Twins – $230
Remember the My Little Pony Surprise Twins? If you still own this trio of pony toys then you’re definitely in for a surprise. This particular Hasbro pony and her two offspring are now being sold for up to $230 on the resale market! In an unusual but certainly memorable design choice, Hasbro designed this pony so she would be able to give birth.
When you press the heart on the mum’s collar, her belly opens up so that you can remove or insert two plastic baby ponies, known only as blue twin and pink twin. The tale on the back of this My Little Pony packaging reveals that the newborn ponies were delivered by Nurse Sweetheart. Unfortunately, Daddy pony is not available to purchase.
7. Berrytown Family – $230
If you don’t own the Sunbright Family then perhaps you have the Berrytown Family instead? Released in the early 90s, this Generation 1 family strikes three different poses, and all have matching cream bodies, ombre manes and tails and cutie marks corresponding to quaint summer activities. For example, Baby Berrytown is stamped with a blue and pink tricycle.
If you saved these My Little Pony gems then start celebrating, because they’re extremely sought after. Buyers are willing to pay up to $230 for the set! Of course, the price fluctuates based on the condition of the manes and tails, plus whether their original boxes and accessories are available.
8. Moon Jumper – $510
Moon Jumper is part of the Windy Wing Pony collection of the late 80s, which are all instantly recognizable thanks to their oversized butterfly wings. On the US packaging, there’s a short story about how Moon Jumper travelled with Flurry through the cosmos, that reads: “Moon Jumper and Flurry loved to gaze at the stars and dreamed of taking a trip to the Milky Way. The wind knew about their dream and carried them up, up, up until they flew over the glowing, yellow moon!”
Given her lack of rhinestones and her somewhat basic cutie mark, it may surprise you to know that Moon Jumper is coveted by collectors, and can even fetch around $510 on the resale market! However, her curly tail, which is designed to evoke fluffy clouds, is notoriously difficult to style and keep in good condition.
9. Rapunzel – $1,500
The Rapunzel My Little Pony is so rare that it never even reached toy store shelves. You could only get these ponies by saving up other My Little Pony receipts and requesting this special reward via mail order, trading in both two Horseshoe Points as well as $8.95. Even considering how much work it took to get one of these, they would later prove to be a total bargain, as they now sell for over $1,500 on eBay.
Reportedly, Rapunzel is the rarest My Little Pony from the USA, and is also the most prized by collectors. Unfortunately, she is also the most difficult to keep in pristine condition, due to her mane and tail being twice the length of that of an average pony, and the unique twisted curl style of the tail.
10. Baby Pearlized Ponies – $245
Another mail order only offering, the Baby Pearlized Ponies came out in 1988, and were reserved for My Little Pony superfans. This is because the only way to purchase them was to trade in enough receipts of prior pony purchases. This has obviously made them very desirable on the resale market, where they can sell individually for around $245.
Miniaturized versions of Surprise, Glory, Cotton Candy, Blossom, Firefly and Moondreamer are all available in this collection. The packaging description explains that the Pearlized Ponies live together on an island paradise, surrounded by tropical treasures and tall, shady palm trees.”
11. Mimic – $200
Mimic is a Generation One Twinkle Eyed pony, identifiable by her colourful rhinestone eyes. With their nearly lime-green bodies, multi-coloured neon hair and jaunty pose, Mimic ponies are treasured by collectors. First released in 1986, they now sell for over $200 on auction websites.
With a cutie mark in the shape of a parrot, Mimic is shown to be obsessed with treasure hunting and pirates. However, when the character was introduced to the My Little Pony ‘n Friends TV series in 1987, her storyline revolved around a mysterious illness that her friends help to find a cure for.
12. Crumpet – $250
Crumpet is a So Soft Pony, released in 1986. Unlike their plastic counterparts, the So Soft Ponies were produced with a layer of “flocking” or fuzz all over their bodies, giving them a pleasing tactile softness. Crumpet is one of only six original So Soft ponies, and is identifiable by her teacup and saucer cutie mark, which shows her love of afternoon tea. Given her unique design, Crumpet has been known to sell for an impressive $250 on the eBay website.
13. Princess Pristina – $575
Among the rarest ponies of all time is the colourful Princess Pristina, who fetches a minimum price tag of $575 on eBay. Fans and collectors will search far and wide for this tinsel-haired Generation One pony, whose accessories include a crown, a glittery green comb and a pink wand. She is also a unique find due to her cutie mark, which isn’t printed or painted onto her hind-quarters, but is instead a 3D diamond that is stuck on.
If you have a pony that looks like this one, but has a turquoise tail, no tinsel and a slightly different cutie mark, then chances are you have one of the two limited edition UK variations of Princess Pristina. The two UK variations are distinguishable by their cutie marks, as one has Princess Sunbeam’s symbol with a green jewel in its centre, while the other has a clear plastic diamond with a green jewel.
14. Twice As Fancy Yum Yum – $460
Twice as Fancy Yum Yum the pegasus (often abbreviated to TAF Yum Yum by collectors) is a Generation One pegasus whose job is to make candy for all the other ponies. Unusually, her whole body has a design of scattered toffees, berries and wrapped sweets, rather than the design being limited to just a cutie mark on her hindquarters. She also has a sweet just under her eye.
It is rare to find this 1987 pony at collectors’ fairs or on second-hand websites, and it is even harder to find her still in her original packaging. As such, if you’re lucky enough to have a Yum Yum still in her box and with her comb, you could be holding onto a pony worth around $460!
15. Locket – $405
On the whole, all of the Generation One ponies are prized by collectors, but when it comes to price tags, it helps if they have a gimmick. That is why the Twinkle Eye ponies tend to fetch such high prices, on account of their eyes being made from a sparkly rhinestone, rather than just being painted on in the standard way.
Locket was released in 1987, as part of the second run of Twinkle Eye ponies. However, when compared to the other ponies in the series (Tic Tac Toe, Mimic, Quackers, Bright Eyes and Speedy), only Mimic tends to resell for a higher price. Whether it’s down to her pretty pink pigment or tri-colour mane, Locket usually fetches the considerable price of $405!
16. Argentinian Variant III Flutterbye – $450
Flutterbye is one of the original Generation One Rainbow ponies, released alongside Tickle, Starflower, Confetti, Trickles and Pinwheel. However, if you remember Flutterbye looking very different from the image above, don’t panic! While Flutterbye’s general design featured a tangerine body and a four-coloured mane with strips of coral, pink, aqua and neon yellow, Flutterbye also had many regional variations.
In particular, Argentinia released 11 different Flutterbye designs, each with its own unique body and hair colour combination. By far the most valuable of these variations is number three, which has a yellow body with green hair and blue butterflies. If you were smart enough to hang on to this pony, you could trade it in for almost $450!
17. Lambaditsa Easter Candle Pony – $400
There are lots of rare or obscure My Little Pony’s out there, but none so much as this one. Though we’ve called her Lambaditsa above, she is often referred to (incorrectly) as Birthday by fans, but both names are unofficial. This adorable pink pony was never actually given a name, as she was the result of a novelty promotion designed to sell ponies in Greece, in tandem with their Easter celebration.
In Greek Orthodox traditions, Lambada candles are lit and wreaths are laid to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection. As such, Lambaditsa was sold in Greece inside a giant plastic egg with a corresponding Easter-inspired cutie mark. Due to her rarity, this pony regularly fetches over $400 at collectors’ markets.
17. Sunburst – $250
As a general rule, the rarer a pony is, the more money it is worth. Therefore it is no surprise that Sunburst is one of the most valuable ponies on the collectors’ circuit. Not only is he a male pony, of which there are far fewer in general, but he is also part of the Mountain Boy Ponies: a set of larger guy ponies modelled on Clydesdales. This series was only sold in the UK, making Sunburst even rarer.
Even without the original packaging, a second-hand Sunburst carries a value of around $250 on the resale market. Depending on a lack of any tangles in the mane and tail, stains on the body or fading of the colour, a second-hand Sunburst could fetch an even higher price.
18. Peachy Keen Mommy and Baby – $400
Some My Little Pony’s are so rare that the only way to get them back in their 80s heyday was to already be a huge pony fan. Then, once you had amassed enough Horseshoe Points by buying off-the-shelf ponies, you could trade them in for exclusive accessories and characters only available via mail order. That’s the story of Peachy Keen Mommy and Baby.
The Peachy Keen Mommy and Baby came with an aqua hair pick and also an adorable yellow crib, which Baby could be nestled into. If you’re lucky enough to have this sweet pair at home, then you’re looking at a minimum price of $400, maybe more depending on the presence of the accessories, how tidy their manes and tails are, and whether or not they’re still in their original box.
19. Hip Holly – $150
Generation Two was the smallest generation of ponies, officially beginning in 1997 and ending in 1998. As a result, not as many collectors are as interested in Gen Two ponies, and there are fewer forums dedicated to chronicling and valuing ponies from this era. However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t a few prized ponies from this time period that collectors are excited to see on the market.
Hip Holly is a Gen Two confetti pony: a subtype of the translucent ponies. Her backstory explains that she is a trendsetter that loves being up to date with fashion, and she even comes with a mini purse and cellphone. Though out of the box and without her accessories a Hip Holly only resells for around $50, in like-new condition she can fetch up to $150!
20. Lady Moon Shadow – $107
Moon Shadow is a 1998 pony that was first released as a Magic Motion pony, meaning she had an articulated head that could be moved up and down. However, in 1999 she was re-released as Lady Moon Shadow or Lady Moonshine, depending on what country you were in. Lady Moon Shadow came with a gold crown pick and a purple crown, to go with her new regal name.
Though out of the box Lady Moon Shadow only fetches a nominal amount, if you happen to still have her in her original box and with all of her royal accessories, then you’re looking at around $107, with the price going up even more depending on the amount of wear and tear on the box!
21. Enchanted Throne Queen Sun Sparkle – $100
Sun Sparkle is one of the most classic My Little Pony’s out there. Originally named Sundance, she was released as part of Generation Two in 1997, but is actually named after Generation One Sundance: a pony that was a special friend of Megan. Megan is the only human to ever be released in the My Little Pony toyline, with Sundance being her mount and best friend, and so the pony unsurprisingly has a special place in the hearts of fans.
As a result, even Gen Two Sundances, which were later renamed Sun Sparkle to help collectors differentiate between generations, can fetch high prices on the resale market. For example, the Enchanted Throne Queen Sun Sparkle remains highly desirable to collectors and can fetch prices of up to $100 when still in its original box.
22. Ivy Variation II – $115
Ivy is another Generation Two pony that has remained popular ever since. Across six years, multiple versions of Ivy were created and sold, from a Beanie Baby to a Princess version to a family version that came with a Baby Fern. While all of these different iterations have remained popular to this day, by far the favourite of collectors is the Magic Motion Ivy II, released in 1999.
Even opened and played with and sold without the original box, a Magic Motion Ivy Variation II is likely to fetch you $115 on the resale market. If you are lucky enough to have one still sealed and unopened, that number is likely to get even higher. However, the value does drop steeply if her signature ruffle outfit, treasure chest and vanity mirror are not included.