Beanie Babies – The Original Nine

Apr 11
20:58

2006

Kari Eriksson

Kari Eriksson

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Out of the gate, in those early years starting in 1993, the beanie babies later known as the Original Nine, took the world by storm. It was not long before they became a legend and after their retirement in the end of the 90s these beanie babies are now a much valuable collectors item.

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These Beanie Babies have become known as Original Nine,Beanie Babies – The Original Nine Articles a named filled with wonder amongst collectors around the world. It is as legendary as maybe Fantastic Four or Oceans Eleven. Or maybe these Beanie Babies launched in late 1993 at the New York World Toy Fair just plain play in a division of their own.

As with many new introductions there were people who were sceptical. They nicknamed these beanies Road Kill. This due to their all new design, which included being somewhat understuffed and containing a mix of traditional stuffing and the all new beans. The design made it possible to place your beanie baby in various positions, sitting or laying down.

The concept was simple, plush animals with a small number of colors and some facial expressions added. More than the beanie babies themselves what also became a vital part of their fame was their hang tags. In the beginning most people removed these tags, at this time they did not have the later poems on them either, but later collectors kept the tags on there and the most valuable beanies today all have their hang tag intact. Several pages have been written on the topic of these hang tags and it might well be possible to base a doctors degree on the research of these tags. With the years the came in a multitude of variations.

Back to the group known as the Original Nine. These beanie babies were named Cubbie the Bear (originally named Brownie the Bear, Splash the Whale, Patti the Platypus, Squealer the Pig, Legs the Frog, Pinchers the Lobster, Chocolate the Moose and Spot the Dog. As with all Beanies, these have been retired during the years. When the concept of retirement was first introduced by Ty Warner in 1996 the fame of the beanie babies really took off.

Of the beanies mentioned above May of 1997 saw the retirement of Flash and Splash. In October the same year Spot and Legs did the same. The following year, 1998, all the other five were retired with Chocolate the Moose being the last one in December of that year.

Though they have now retired these Beanie Babies will forever be remembered as the ones who made it all happen in those early years together with their father and creator Ty Warner. Today it is hard to believe that originally the beanies were actually meant for kids to play with!