When it comes to the manufacture and production of stuffed bears and animals, the Steiff Toy Company has surely dominated the market for decades now. In fact, a number of vintage Steiff collectible bears are sought after by many collectors worldwide, both young and young at heart. If you look closely, the said collectors date back even up to the creation of the company itself and their prized possessions are passed from generation to generation. Apart from bears, there are even other collectible toys like the skittle and animals on wheels to name a few. In fact, Margarete Steiff, the founder of this infamous toy line, started making elephants instead and sold them as pin cushions but later on became a toy than a sewing buddy.
Steiff Collectible Bears - Louis Vuitton and Titanic Editions
To give you a little trivia, did you know what item sold and cost the most? Of course, one could deduce that it was a teddy bear and these happened during the year 2000 where it sold for $2.1 million at a charity auction at the Teddies de L’An in Monaco. It was a designer bear called the Steiff Louis Vuitton. Other notable sales include the Steiff Titanic mourning bear for £91,750 in the same year, the Steidd Rod for £82,000 in 2002, the Steiff Elliot for £49,500 in 1993 and the Steiff Teddy Girl for £110,000 in 1994.
When buying one, you must make sure that they are still in good condition. You were a kid once and it is but common that the most favorite and well loved toys suffer the most damage from wear and tear.
The most sought after models are those that were unpopular with the kids in the past indicating that their number of availability is at a low. Some of these vintage stuffed animals are even produced only at certain period of time such as the panda bears manufactured from the 1930s to the 1960s.
Steiff Trademark - Button In Ear
Steiff collectible bears are identified by an embossed trademark button or tag in their left ear that is the “Steiff” name, an elephant logo or both. To identify a limited edition from a replica, try to check the tags at the ear too. White ones with a red lettering mean a limited one of a kind edition toy while a white tag with black lettering mean that the toy is a replica of the limited edition variant. In general, the toys have yellow tags attached on their ears.
