Do you have one of these rare and valuable Beanie Babies? You could be holding on to a small fortune
The popular 90s stuffed animals can fetch hundreds of pounds on eBay
RARE Beanie Babies are selling for more than £1,000 on eBay, so if you have one of the stuffed animals in your wardrobe or attic, it's time to dig it out.
While most Beanie Babies sell for just a few quid online, there are some very rare and very valuable animals that have sold for a small fortune.
Beanie Babies launched in 1991 and became highly collectable in the mid-90s. At the height of popularity, Beanies made up 10 per cent of all eBay sales, according to Fortune.
For years, fans of the cuddly toys have been flogging them on eBay, and there has been much media attention around how much certain animals are worth.
In 2015, one couple bought a £10 Beanie Baby at a car boot sale — then found it was the world’s rarest version, worth tens of thousands of pounds.
The teddy was one of less than 100 Princess Diana memorial bears made, and fans said past versions had sold on eBay for £20,000.
While some Beanie Babies can still fetch thousands of pounds on eBay, we found eight of the toys that have sold for the most amount of money on the online auction site over the past few months.
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Crucially, we searched through sold listings rather than live ones, as this gives a more realistic picture of how much money the stuffed animals actually go for.
Bear in mind that there are a vast amount of fakes online, so prices that seem ludicrously high are most likely not for genuine Beanie Babies.
Employee Beanie Baby - £1,309
This is the most expensive Beanie Baby to have sold on eBay over the past few months.
After 26 bids, it sold for a whopping $1,600 (£1,309).
According to SmartCollecting.com, in 1997 employees and reps of Ty Inc. - the maker of Beanie Babies - were given an exclusive new face violet employee bear.
It is estimated that only 150 with red ribbons and 150 with green ribbons were given away.
Authentic Employee beanie babies should have a 1993 or 1995 red and white 2nd generation label on the bottom.
Coral Casino Beanie Baby - £621
In 2001, the Coral Casino Beanie Baby bear was given as a gift to Coral Casino Beach Club members of the Four Season's Santa Barbara Biltmore Hotel.
According to the blog Ty Collector, there were 588 of these bears made, with each swing tag numbered and signed by Ty.
After 19 bids, this Coral Casino beanie went for a staggering £621 on eBay.
Peanut Beanie Baby - £320
Peanut the elephant was released in 1995 and in two shades of blue (light and royal).
There are various fakes out there of the elephant, but experts say the royal blue Peanut must have a black and white label. Some of the counterfeits have a red and white bottom label instead.
The label must also have the copyright year 1995 on it. Peanut's with any other year on its label is a counterfeit.
This royal blue version sold for $395 (£320) on eBay after 39 bids.
What should I do if I have a rare Beanie Baby?
FIRST of all, do your research. You can find information about all Beanie Babies online, and you can check how much yours could be worth by going onto eBay and clicking the "sold listings" option (bottom left-hand side) to see what previous versions of your toy have sold for.
Compare your Beanie Baby to the higher selling auctions and ask yourself, is the condition similar? Is my toy authentic? Is it in good condition?
If your Beanie Baby is worth a moderate sum and isn't in pristine condition, then it's worth flogging it on eBay. If it's worth in the high thousands and in mint condition, then it could be worth selling it through auction or to a collectibles website.
Humphrey Beanie Baby - £272
Humphrey was the first Beanie Baby officially "retired" (taken off the market) by its manufacturer, meaning it was, and still is, very valuable.
The camel is prone to counterfeits, but genuine versions will have a black and white label dated 1993.
A counterfeit Humphrey may have plastic pellets in its legs, while the authentic version only has the pellets in its body, not in the legs.
Brownie Beanie Baby - £255
Brownie was one of two beanies released before the original nine animals were announced in 1993.
Brownie's name later changed to Cubbie, and the only way to tell the difference between a Brownie and a Cubbie is the swing tag.
Without the named swing tag, there is no way to tell the difference between a 1st generation Brownie and a 1st generation Cubbie that was made in Korea.
Brownie also retired in the early 90s, pushing up his financial value.
This Brownie was sold in a plastic box and in good condition, fetching £255 after 11 bids.
Hong Kong Beanie Baby - £239
There are four Hong Kong Toy Fair beanie babies, the first of which was released in 2010, and the last in 2014.
They were handed out to those who attended Ty Inc's exclusive showing at the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong.
Each bear should have a tag with the date inside and a thank-you note to those who attended the showing.
Spot Beanie Baby - £125
Spot was introduced in 1994 and was one of the original nine beanie babies.
When the toy was first released there was an error as it didn't have a spot on it, but it was later re-introduced with the missing spot.
The version without the spot is one of the rarest beanie babies around and is incredibly sought after.
But even those with spots can fetch a tidy sum. This one, for instance, earned £125 on eBay after 25 bids.
Old Face Teddy - £101
The Old Face Teddy Bear was released in 1994 and retired around six months later.
The teddy features a Victorian-style face with eyes on the sides of the head instead of facing forward, and a small triangular nose.
While the teddy bears comes in different colours; jade, cranberry, teal, magenta, and violet, the most valuable version is the brown bear, which does not come with a poem or a ribbon.
Nevertheless, coloured bears are also highly valuable.
This one sold for £101 earlier in the year, despite some wear and tear to the tag.
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