Goebel used these trademarks on all its products in 1935, when M.I. Hummel figurines were first made commercially available.

The letters WG in the mark found below the crown are the initials of one of the founders of the company, William Goebel.

Some Crown Mark have been found that appears twice on the same piece, more often one mark incised and the other stamped. This is known as the "Double Crown Mark". Sometimes you will also find an earlier trademark as well as an older trademark on the same piece. This has been done because the figurine piece was fired during a trademark transition period. The figurine was fired under one trademark but was not painted until the new trademark was implemented. "Double Marks" such as these are considered to be the latter mark and are appraised as such.

The Hummel signature is found as a base rim marking. When found, the signature usually is placed on the edge or the vertical edge of the base. Some people have confused the M.I. Hummel signature with the Crown Trademark. Actually, in fact the signature is not a Crown as seen in the image above to the left.

After World War II ended the United States Occupation Forces allowed Goebel to begin exporting figurines. The pieces were marked "Made In US Zone". There were many variation of this stamp, some of which included the words "Germany" and other just stated "US Zone". These marks signified that the figurines were made in the occupied zone of Germany. All these marks should be treated as Crown marks.

Hummel Trademark 2 - Full Bee - 1950 to 1960:

In 1950 the Goebel Company made some major changes in their trademark. They incorporated a bee in a V. It is thought that the bumblebee part of the mark was derived from the childhood nickname of Sister Maria Innocentia Hummel, meaning bumblebee. The bee flies within a V, which is the first letter of the German word for distributing company. Verkaufsgesellschaft. The mark was to honor M. I. Hummel, who died in 1946.

There are actually 12 variations of the Bee marks, however, the majority are grouped together due to the insignificant differences between the marks. They are not considered particularly significant enough to define them un-grouped.

The Full Bee mark was the first of the Bee trademarks to be used. The marks evolved over 20 years until the company began to catch up to modern times. The Bee Mark is sometimes found enclosed within an incised circle. The very large bee flying in the V was used until 1956, when the bee was reduced in size and lowered into the V. It can be found incised, stamped in black or stamped in blue, in that order, through its life's timeline.

Hummel Trademark 3 - Stylized Bee - 1960 to 1972:

A major change in the way the bee is rendered in the trademark made its appearance in 1960. The Stylized Bee (trademark #3) appeared in three basic forms through 1972. The first two are both classified as the Stylized Bee, but the third is considered a fourth step in the evolution, the Three Line
Mark (trademark#4). Goebel re-used the Crown-WG back a small blue decal application. This was done to protect Goebel's copyright of the mark. It otherwise would have run out.

The Large Stylized Bee - this trademark was used primarily from 1960 through 1963. The "W. Germany" is placed to the right of the bottom of the V. The color of the mark will be black or blue. It is sometimes found inside an incised circle. When you find the Large Stylized Bee mark, you will normally find a stamped "West" or "Western Germany" in black elsewhere on the base, but not always.

The Small Stylized Bee - this mark is also considered to be trademark #3. It was used
concurrently with the Large Stylized Bee from about 1960 and continued in this use until about 1972. The "W. Germany" appears centered beneath the V and Bee. The mark is usually rendered in blue and it too is often accompanied by a stamped black West or Western Germany. The mark is sometimes referred to by collectors and dealers as the One Line Mark.

Trademark 4 - Three Line Stylized Bee - 1964 to 1972:

This trademark used the same stylized V and Bee as the others, but also included three lines of wording beside it. This major change appeared in blue color.

I have not found much documented information as to the history of this trademark.

Hummel Trademark 5 - Goebel Bee - 1972 to 1979:

The Goebel Bee trademark actually developed and was occasionally used as early as 1970. Some collectors know this change as the Last Bee mark because the next change in the trademark did not and no longer incorporated the use of any form of the V and the bee. The mark was used until about mid 1979, when it began to phase out, thus completing the transition to the newer trademark in 1980. There are three minor variations in the mark. Generally the mark was placed under the glaze from 1972-1976 and is found placed over the glaze 1976-1979. This gives you a better idea of when the figurine was made.

Hummel Trademark 6 - Goebel Missing Bee - 1979 to 1991:

The transition to this trademark began in 1979 and was complete by mid 1980. Many dealers and collectors complained about the passing of the traditional stylized V and bee and for a while called the mark the Missing Bee. In conjunction with this change, the company instituted the practice of adding to the traditional artist's mark the date the artist finished painting the piece.

Hummel Trademark 7 - Goebel w/Crown - 1990 to 1999:

By removal of the "West" from the mark, but very significant in another way. Until then they used the same trademark on virtually all of their products. The current mark is now exclusively used on Goebel products made from the paintings and drawings of M. I. Hummel. Other Goebel products will bear a different mark than that used on Hummel pieces.

Hummel Trademark 8 - Goebel w/Full Bee - Present Date:

Present day trademark for Goebel Hummels. No information as to the history of this trademark has been attained or assessed.