In the 1990s, Beanie Babies were a significant trend but swiftly lost popularity. However, the beanie baby craze continues as the children’s toys are now almost gold and diamond equivalent, attracting various beanie baby collectors.
Some of the same little stuffed toys that previously cost just a few dollars on the secondary market now fetch thousands.
Because Beanie Babies are generally more expensive, the more unique they are; therefore, variants with minor stylistic differences or even infrequent flaws like tag errors sometimes produce the most valuable beanie baby.
Ty warner created this plush toy in the 1990s. Today, they no longer make the original beanie babies. TY Inc. now produces beanie boos worldwide.
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Most Expensive Beanie Babies
Although there are so many beanie babies, your collection’s most expensive Beanie Babies might still bring in a handsome sum in 2022, despite Beanie Baby mania and the absurd speculations becoming a relic of the 1990s for all time.
Are you curious to know your beanie babies’ worth? Here are some of the most valuable beanie babies; we will also talk about the beanie babie price guide and the factors that affect it.
1. Digger the Crab $109
Digger, the Crab, was introduced in 1994 by Ty, Inc. and was withdrawn in 1995. Although TY produced different versions, the first generation’s the most precious.
A vibrant orange material is used to create the well-known Beanie Baby. However, the later iterations weren’t as expensive as the original orange Beanie Babies because they were made of brilliant red cloth.
Black thread antennae and black button eyes are features of this adorable Beanie Baby. It has 8 legs, 2 large pincers, and a lovely poem on its tag.Value: it can fetch you a few hundred dollars running up to $695 and is worth even more in mint condition.
2. Baldy the Bald Eagle $7.99
Baldy, the bald eagle, is the only beanie baby of the many American-themed Beanie Babies that were widely treasured alongside those given away for the 4th of July.
On May 11th, 1997, he came out, and 5,000 of his cards were distributed during a basketball game between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Golden State Warriors. Another 5,000 were distributed at a hockey game.
3. Humphrey the Camel $147.50
As one of the first nine Beanie Babies, Humphrey the Camel came out in 1993. It has also appeared in a variety of forms over the years.
On June 15th, 1995, the original Humphrey, the first Beanie Baby, retired.
Humphrey, the camel, is currently worth around $100. However, those Humphrey the Camel Ty beanie babies with their rear legs attached backwards can potentially bring in much more.
Beware, there are lots of fake Humphrey Beanie Babies available.
4. Ty Mystic $84
The typical human is fascinated and in awe by mythical animals like unicorns, mermaids, and centaurs.
So, it stands to reason that the unicorn is among the most expensive beanies. Each of the variations that the company produces is highly sought after.
This Ty beanie baby has a May 21st 1994, date of birth and was retired in 1997.
You need to determine Mystic’s condition and know what generation she belongs to. Then, creases and folds may reduce your asking price.
A white toy may also develop smudges if it has ever been handled. Therefore, premium beanies for collection must be immaculate and in good condition despite typos.
5. Glory the Bear $9.95
We can say Glory is one of the cutest beanie babies from the bear models. The beanie bear is white with red and blue stars all around it.
He has a huge black button nose and eyes. On his chest, there is an embellishment of the U.S flag.
Another exclusive Ty beanie baby McDonald’s international bears from the late 1990s may give you an extra $10. Is there a pattern emerging here? Never ever dispose of anything!
6. Mac the Cardinal $100
Mac is one of the three cardinal beanie babies. But compared to the others Ty released a few years later, Mac is far more valuable.
His birthday was in June 1998, but he got published on January 1st, 1999. In 1999, TY distributed 20,000 pieces of Mac at a St. Louis Cardinals game, but he’s still shockingly one of the rare beanie babies.
The most valued Mac versions are the ones that have errors. For example, some came with extra space on the tag, which added to their astounding price.
7. Curly the Bear Beanie Baby $13.00
Our next toy on the most valuable beanie babies is Curly the Bear. The original nine beanie babies received name tags with birthdays when they were released as a part of the Beanie Babies Official Club Collection (BBOC).
The hang tags for the earlier 90s sets did not include birthday information. So the most priceless beanies are those that are older.
Classical bears, like this one, are a significant hit with vintage beanie baby collectors. Particularly useful characters are Fuzzy and Curly.
They might be distinguished by their teddy bear-like pale brown colour and distinctive fur texture, albeit Fuzzy’s fur is much thicker.
8. Ty Santa Claus Beanie Baby $6
Santa features a red nose, black button eyes, and a peach-coloured face. He has white felt trim on his fluffy beard, and he’s dressed in a vivid crimson suit with white trim and a black belt.
In addition, he is sporting a red Santa hat with white trim, green gloves, and black shoes. Indeed a complete Santa.
Released and retired in 1998, Santa is a rare beanie baby. So if you have it, be ready to make some dough.
9. Hippity Hoppity and Floppity $200.00
Some beanies are sold as a set or collection. Therefore, you might get a considerably greater price if you own the entire collection. The bunnies, Hippity, Hoppity, and Floppity, are an illustration of this. Since they are all different colours, you can recognize them right away.
The typical filling for stuffed animals is soft, silky polyester, while beanie babies are filled with plastic “beans” or pellets; hence they are called plush toys. First, check whether your beanie baby can still sit erect or if it has sagged to determine its value. This reveals the state of its internals.
The fact that this particular model was developed with many errors may be why the bunnies are among the most valuable beanie babies. These errors are typically connected to the tags fastened to the bunny.
It can be either a hang tag or a tush tag error. For instance, the word beanie may have two i’s instead of one, which is incorrect.
10. Jake the Mallard $500.00
Jake is a duck, making him the ideal snuggle baby. But he has become collectors most preferred because of his vivid colours and gentle touch.
One of the Ty Beanie Babies from the late 1990s is Jake the Mallard Duck. He looks exactly the same as the sounds, so anyone curious about him can identify him by the difference between his greenish head and grey and brown body.
This variant, a more expensive beanie baby, has inconsistent dates. For example, the tush tag is marked with 1998, whereas the hang tag is marked with 1997.
There are also punctuation issues in the poem. Funny how flaws can increase a toy’s worth.
11. Lefty the Donkey and Righty the Elephant $18.00
Lefty the Donkey and Righty the Elephant could be up to $3,600 combined. Although Ty Warner has always stayed clear of politics, Ty released these beanies a few years before the 2008 U.S presidential election.
So, Righty, the Elephant represented the Republican Party, and Lefty the Donkey represented the Democratic Party.
This model of beanie babies became more popular when Hillary Clinton signed one set for a man that bought them for his kids.
12. Sly the Fox $3.95
Sly, the Fox, September 12th, 1996, Beanie Baby was introduced. He was available in two shades: brown and rusty orange.
Sly the Fox has a few different variations, so buying the orange version with the cream belly is more beneficial than the one with the brown belly.
Looking at the tag on a Beanie Baby can also help determine its worth. Fortunately for a beanie, a few errors were present on this one, including additional spaces, missing letters, and a missing stamp, along with using the original PVC pellets.
13. Magic the Dragon $103.50
This Beanie Baby is called “Magic” and is composed of plush white fabric with round, black button eyes and a light pink nose because there’s something magical about a plain white dragon.
The fascinating aspect of Magic is her long, curled tail and shimmering, glittering white wings.
She retired on December 31st, 1997, after being released on June 3rd, 1995. Interestingly, some Magic models featured hot pink stitching while others had pale pink stitching on the wings. Because there are fewer quantities of the hot pink edition available, it is valued higher.
14. Peanut the Elephant $14.00
This adorable tiny Elephant may have been the catalyst for the Beanie mania among collectors as a whole. Even though it resulted from a manufacturer error in dye calculations, the royal blue peanut is the mastermind of the collectors’ beanie craze for this model.
As a result, peanut the Elephant quickly found its way into the most valuable beanie babies most sought-after of the other colour variations.
Once more, the colour of this specific beanie is what stands out. This cheerful Elephant had a colourful history, though it’s unclear if TY wasn’t pleased with the dye accident or if customer surveys showed a preference for the lighter powder blue.
Therefore, if you own a Peanut the Elephant in royal blue that is in mint condition, you may be looking at about $10 – $20 or even more.
15. Patti the Platypus $12.95
Patti, the platypus, is one of the mini beanies, also known as teenie beanies, released by TY in 1997. Patti was the 6th of the original nine Beanie Babies by TY.
Between her debut and her retirement in 1998, Patti came in various colours, including fuchsia, magenta, raspberry, and maroon.
Her tush tags are written in both English and French. In addition, Ty’s stamp is absent from her tush tag, and her tag contains a few minor grammatical errors making some variants, particularly one of the most valuable beanie babies. If only our faults increased our worth as well!
16. Halo Bear $10.89
The lifespan of this 1998 TY rarity’s manufacture was brief. However, kids find Halo’s fluffy white fur to be very charming. It also looks good with angel wings and an incandescent halo.
This well-known Beanie baby was intended to stand in for a guardian angel who would look out for the kids and keep them cuddled.
One of the rare beanie babies firing up the beanies craze among collectors is this all-white Bear with a white star printed. Unfortunately, this Bear’s tush tags contained multiple mistakes, some of which may potentially have different eye and nose colours or positioning.
17. Iggy the Iguana $95.00
Lizard capturing is a popular pastime for boys, but Iggy made the lizards snuggle even with young ladies. In addition, the amiable iguana was made available in various hues, including rainbow hues.
Unfortunately, Iggy’s rainbow colouring was a manufacturing error that made him resemble Rainbow the Chameleon. But, as usual with beanie babies’ value, the errors are a plus.
The Iguana variants include different tag sizes, colours, a tongue that sticks out, or quacker’s tush tags.
In excellent condition, Iggy the Iguana with a blank tush tag is worth at least $15,000. But due to Iggy’s fame, any brightly coloured reptile plush might quickly get $7,000 or more in appraisal.
18. Seaweed $900.00
One of the first PVC pellet-made Beanie Babies was Seaweed the Otter, whose birthday was March 19th 1996.
Seaweed, the Beanie Baby, is a cute little boy who has found a place among the most valuable beanie babies. At the start of the Beanie Baby frenzy in 1996, the first cute brown sea critter made its debut.
The initial generation of Seaweed produced a small number of offspring since the original had several mistakes that needed to be fixed. The initial tush tags contained various mistakes. Here are some characteristics of an original Seaweed Beanie Baby to check for on the tag.
In contrast to other Beanie tags, which write out the birthday, this one writes it in all digits. This is because there was no stamp inside the tag in the early editions of Seaweed.
Also, there isn’t a star or a heart either. Because of the immediate modification to the tag, the original Seaweed Beanie Babies are worth much more than subsequent generations of Seaweed.
You may find the original Seaweed Beanie Babies priced between $7,000 and above. They also have four tush tag errors.
19. Peace Bear $10.00
Peace the Bear, introduced in 1997 and retired in 1997, secures the number nine spot on our list of the most valuable beanie babies. It is also one of the reasons behind the beanie craze among collectors in the beanie baby world.
However, Garcia the Bear was replaced by the Peace Bear. The original tie-dyed bears have two hues, but no two are precisely the same. The Bear’s chest is decorated with a peace sign, and it was the first time adding the embroidered logo to this Beanie Baby.
Very few Peace Bears exist without the peace sign, and those bears are significantly more valuable than those that do. It has a value of up to $7,300 and can even go up.
20. Snort the Red Bull $18.00
Snort the Red Bull was previously known as Tabasco before changing its name. Although the toy business didn’t want any legal issues, the company claimed that TY had illegally duplicated its brand name.
The colouring is the primary distinction between Tabasco and Snort. Except for a few facial traits, Tabasco was all red, while Snort the Red bull had white patterns on his hooves.
One crucial tag error during its production modification was printing the wrong name on the tag. However, keep in mind that in the beanie world, errors are advantageous if you want to sell beanie babies.
Being one of the most valuable beanie babies, you can cash out up to $8,000 for a Red Bull TY beanie baby in good condition.
21. Gobble the Turkey $100.00
Compared to other Beanie Babies, this brown, red, yellow, and white stuffed animal took a while to make. You might observe that some Gobbles’ tail feathers have been fastened at various heights on the plush toy or that it has one waddle instead of two waddles.
Your Gobbles could gain value due to a few variations and errors. So, as a result, he might be missing an entire leg. And if this turkey had a dotty tush tag, that would make it much rarer.
This Thanksgiving Day classic would be worth around $10,000 if it were not given soup at the dining.
22. Claude the Crab $16.95
Claude, the Crab, is one of the cutest and most valuable Beanie Babies and the only one whose name is mentioned in a poem. Claude exemplifies Beanie Babies’ appeal to children and collectors with a detailed design that resembles a genuine crab.
In addition to various tones of dark blue, rich green, mellow brown, and a beautiful cream undershell, he also comes in various other hues.
Kids were once the target market for beanie babies. The concept was that students could use money from their allowance to purchase their stuffed animals.
Many of the personalities had poems that captured the essence of who they were. Adults also realized its collector’s value, as they do with many children’s objects.
23. Nut the Squirrel $100.00
Raccoons and squirrels are considered common animals in the United States. But there was once a traveller from Australia who was eager to view a raccoon up close!
Kangaroos and koalas are commonplace in his eyes, but our “trash pandas” are such an oddity. He would have adored Nuts.
Kids can play with the bushy tail since it is a lovely, tactile element. However, you must preserve its quality because it was retained as a collector’s item.
It’s brand-new and most likely fresh out of the packaging. Additionally, it must be conserved to keep it upright because it is filled with PE pellets.
Nut, the squirrel, is listed online for $17,500. However, a very rare made certain Nuts the Squirrel Beanie Babies come with extra whiskers on either side, giving them a place among the most valuable beanie babies. Also, you’ve struck gold if you snag the one with the longer leg.
24. Rainbow Beanie Baby $160.00
Introduced in 1997, published in 1998, and retired in 1998, Rainbow the chameleon is another of the most valuable beanie babies.
Some beanie babies are so rare that collectors will pay any amount to have them. Some beanie babies from the 1990s could easily fetch a half million dollars, especially with the ever-increasing scarcity.
Although not up to half a million, Rainbow the chameleon TY beanie baby can fetch you up to $20,000 in mint condition, depending on the tag errors!
25. Valentino Bear $25.00
A Valentine’s Day celebration, Valentino is a lover’s joy. It has plain white fur that is appealing because of the vivid red ribbon around its neck and the big heart stamp on its chest.
This soft Valentino bear, the brother of the previously available Valentina, has experienced numerous tag errors throughout its various generations.
In addition, rather than always being black, it occasionally has a brown nose or eyes. If you own one of these rarer copies, you are sitting on a large sum of money.
For this beanie baby, collectors have already spent up to thousands of dollars, and it’s currently listed on eBay for $43,000. So as you can see, love costs a thing or thousands.
26. Millennium Bear $27.00
The Millennium Bear comes in five distinct colourations, each of which is graceful and vivid pink. The fourth iteration used a copper-coloured neck ornament instead of the gold ribbon included in the first three versions.
For McDonald’s Happy Meals, a few quantities of tiny Millenniums were also made.
Generally, the historical good fortune of particular Beanie Babies could skyrocket their value. However, Millennium Bear, a 1999 release, derives its value from celebrating the new millennium.
A tush tag with the Bear’s name misspelt with just one ‘n’ is a collector’s desire, so watch out for those errors.
But the numerous typographical errors associated with Millennium Bear’s tush tag are the real reason it is worth thousands of dollars. On eBay, Millennium Bears run up to $80,000 in value. However, in June 2022, a seller sold for $2,000.
27. Princess Bear $38.00
Finally, the princess bear holds the number spot on our list of the most valuable beanie babies. Princess the Bear represents a tragic chapter in history rather than being just another plush toy or Beanie Baby.
Princess bear is not one of the first Beanie Babies. So they released it after the Beanie Baby frenzy had started to fade. But in terms of appearance and cost, it is the clear winner among Beanie Babies.
The toy makers released it to commemorate Wale’s Princess Diana’s death. The intention was to inspire Beanie Bear fans and anybody else who the lovely teddy bear inspired to give to the Princess Diana memorial fund.
Although it’s unclear how much the Bear was able to raise, it was nonetheless a beautiful memorial to the lovely princess. Princess the Bear has a lovely purple and white. The chest has a white rose, and the rest is purple.
The best Beanie Baby available now is, without a doubt, Princess Bear, also called the Princess Diana Bear.
Princess bears are also extremely rare and expensive than most beanie babies. However, it is available on eBay for $900,000, which is a reasonable sum for both a cuddly bear and a piece of history.
How to Value Your Beanie Babies
Below are some factors to consider when estimating the worth of your beanie babies.
Condition
When estimating the worth of a Beanie Baby, the condition is a crucial consideration, just like with any antiques and collectibles. Prior to considering a purchase, toy collectors will undoubtedly examine an item’s condition. These condition grades include, among others:
- Mint
- Near mint
- Excellent
- Very good
- Good
- Poor
To check the condition also, you should also assess the stuffed materials. For example, because fewer PVC pellets make the soft toys easier to handle, Beanie Babies with lesser pellets value more.
You must also ensure to confirm which generation of beanie your toy belongs to, in addition to figuring out the condition. This is because these toys came in different “generations,” with the first generation typically valued more than the ones that followed.
The first generation of Beanie Babies, which debuted in 1993, seems to be one of the most expensive.
Rarity
After making a specific quantity of the toys, Beanie Babies frequently retired the toy models to maintain their popularity. Since each model has a limited supply, a retired Beanie Baby will often sell for more at auction than one still being produced.
You can visit the Ty website for the necessary information about your beanie’s retirement.
Other Factors
Some further steps to valuing your beanie babies are:
- Check for historical significance
- Accurate and complete tags
- Certificate of Authenticity
Where to Buy or Sell Beanie Babies
Since eBay is where the trend started in the 1990s, it is the best location to sell a Beanie Baby. Alternatively, you can hold an auction for them at a collectors’ conference or on another online store like Ruby Lane and Etsy.
A Beanie Baby can typically fetch a higher price at an auction targeted at Beanie collectors than at a yard sale or online marketplace. While selling through a Beanie Baby auction site and stores or a collectors’ website could take longer, for many sellers, the more excellent price you can earn makes the wait worthwhile.
Final Thoughts
We must forewarn you that not every variant of Beanie Baby commands a high price before you hastily remove your collection from the attic. Instead, rare plushies with distinctive flaws are the only ones that fetch high prices.
Reduce your expectations because Beanie Babies valued at five and six figures are rare. Here are some crucial details to aid you in a rapid evaluation:
- The value of Beanie Babies with lesser PVC pellets increases,
- Complete tush and hang tags are ideal conditions needed for a better bargaining power
- Princess the Bear has consistently been the most expensive beanie character.
Every baby born in the 1990s probably has childhood memories of Beanie Babies. These days, if you are a collector, these stuffed toys can be very expensive.
Let’s say you believe to possess a rare or special edition, Beanie Baby. If so, we advise you to consult a competent appraiser who can attest to its authenticity and give you an idea of its current market value.
Depending on how you can spare, you can go home with a few hundred dollars worth of diggers the Crab or spend close to a million to be the king or queen of the beanies world with Princess the Bear.