BEANIE BABY HISTORY TY BEANIE BABIES PLUSH STUFFED ANIMALS

BEANIE BABY HISTORY
By Leon Carlson of Mister Find IT

H. Ty Warner had worked for "Dakin" a San Francisco toy company, selling plush stuffed animals for 18 years. In 1983 he stated Ty , which he started out of his home in Hinsdale, IL ( Ty Inc. was incorporated in 1986.) where he produced a set of 10 plush Himalayan cats. Each plush cat was basically the same style with different names, colors, and sizes, each retailed for about $20.00. Initially Ty sold his plush stuffed animal line to retailers he knew from Dakin. In the early days at an Atlanta toy fair Ty had sold 30,000 plush stuffed animals within an hour, which had helped with his start. By 1992 Ty had a sales catalog with several dozen animals. Ty wanted to create a plush stuffed animal that was small enough for a child to put in their pocket, and cheap enough to buy with their allowance. In late1993 the first BEANIE BABIES were released at a New York toy fair.

These were the original nine Beanie Babies:

1.) Legs the Frog. Born April 25, 1993 - retired October 1997.
2.) Splash the Orca Whale. Born July 8, 1993 - retired May 1997.
3.) Brownie the Bear, later his name was changed to Cubbie the Bear. (These two beanies are identical except for the tag) Brownie was really one of the first bears as he was released and retired in early 1993. Cubbie was first given away at Chicago Cubs games on May 18, 1997, and retired in January 1998.
4.) Flash the Dolphin. Born May 13, 1993 - retired May 11, 1997 (then replaced by Echo the dolphin).
5.) Spot the Dog. Born October 31, 1993 (without spots) - retired with spots
October 1, 1997. Spot without spots is one of the most valued original nine.
6.) Punchers the Lobster - later his name was changed to Pinchers.
Like Brownie, Punchers was released and retired in early 1993, and the same lobster with the name of Pinchers was released later in 1993 at the New York toy fair. Pinchers retired May 1998.
7.) Chocolate the Moose. Born April 27, 1993 - retired December 1998.
8.) Squealer the Pig. Born April 23, 1993 - retired May 1998.
9.) Patti the Platypus. Born January 6, 1993 - retired May 1998.

Other then the internet you are most likely to find one of the original 9 in the areas of Chicago, or New York. All of the original 9 were retired by the end of 1998. Not only were these Beanies unique in their style and quality, but they also had unique tags. The original tags (known as a 1st, generation tag) a hang tag, with no poems, and was a single, double sided Ty tag, with the animals style, number and name on the back, and a smaller Ty on the front. These animals also had a tush tag, that was white with black lettering, sewn-in the tush area. Many of the manufactures recommended the removal of these tags as the toys were given to small children. So quick raid your relatives toy boxes! Most of these originals were sold at gift shops in the Chicago area in January of 1994, and today sell for over $100 each, at auction.

But not only are the original 9 sought by collectors, but Ty released many Beanie Babies as exclusive Beanies for charity fund raisers. Add that to the 550 - 600 different Beanie Babies out there today (10/25/2002), of which the real collector wants one of each in their collection. . There are also several different styles like the Attic Treasures, Beanie Kids, Basket Beanies, and Ty Jingle Beanies.

Mister Find IT is not a Beanie Babies site, and is not related to or sponsored by Ty Inc.

This article was originally published and is a copyright of Mister Find IT from Newsletter of October 2002 (prices reflect that time period). You hereby have permission to copy the title and create a brief description of no more then 25 words, (which can be from the article) but your description and / or the title must be linked back to the URL of the full article.
(http://www.misterfindit.com/beanie-baby-history.html) See last newsletter.