Everyone loves a good treasure hunt, especially when you can likely do the hunt right in the comfort of your own home.
A fair amount of us probably has a box somewhere with prized possessions from our childhood.
Whether they are dolls, toy cars, Disney VHS movies, or even beanie babies, you’ve got to wonder – “are they worth anything?”
Turns out, yes, they are.
Especially beanie babies. We always knew that they were valuable and sought after during our childhood.
That value has lingered and even increased for some of them. You wouldn’t believe the price tag that comes with some of those extremely hard-to-find beanie babies.
Top 25 Most Expensive Beanie Babies in The World
Here is the list of the top 25 most expensive beanie babies in the world.
25. Jake the Duck – $600
We’ll start the list of the most expensive beanie babies with Jake the Duck.
Jake was one of the original beanie babies who was retired too soon before Ty’s extreme success. This cute little duck was only around for a little while before the popularity of beanie babies soared.
He might not be worth thousands like some of his friends, but if you can find an original you will likely be about to sell it for a few hundred dollars.
He has unique color features that set him apart from other beanie babies with a green head and grey and brown body.
He’s definitely more of an “earthy” beanie baby that you might have had if you were an outdoorsy kid.
24. Humphrey the Camel – $1200
Humphrey was one of the original beanie babies. He was created in 1994 and there were only 25,000 produced.
He then retired in 1999, so if you have one of the few Humphreys, it’s time to dust him off and see what he’s worth.
Manufacturing abnormalities can also drive up the price of a beanie baby. For example, a few Humphreys had their legs sewn on backward.
If you find one of those guys the value increases significantly.
23. Chef Robuchon – $2500
This rare beanie baby was created over ten years after the craze began. It was created as part of a promotion for a New York City restaurant, L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon located in the Four Seasons Hotel.
There are some really fun culinary characteristics to this guy that sets him apart from the rest, including a miniature menu in the bear’s hand.
The bear even has his own little chef coat on with stitching on the uniform that says “Joel Robuchon New York”.
There were very few bears produced, which makes these guys very valuable among the culinary and beanie baby community.
22. Peanut the Royal Blue Elephant – $2500
Peanut wasn’t producing the sales that Ty had hoped for, so after its original creation, they changed the color from royal blue to baby blue. The baby blue elephant became a front runner for the brand in the 90s.
Karma comes around and now that royal blue elephant can bring in a few thousand dollars. Don’t bother with the baby blue elephants though.
They were almost “too popular” and now are worth probably less than what was originally paid for them.
21. Employee the Bear – $3000
Employee The Bear was created as a gift for Ty’s sales representatives and was handed out on a cruise ship in 1997 as a gift.
There were only 300 of them made, making them an exclusive item. 150 of them have a red ribbon and 150 of them have a green ribbon.
These bears do not have the standard plastic swing tie tag like most beanie babies. The bear’s unique magenta color makes it different from the other purple-colored bears that Ty produced.
Finding one of these would be extremely rare, but well worth it.
20. Digger the Crab – $3500
Digger the Crab is a beanie baby original and was introduced in 1994. He retired the following year with different editions of the crab to follow.
The original crab was a bright orange color and the new crabs were red. The orange crabs are the ones that are the most treasured.
Be sure the crab is the first edition before trying to sell it. If it is, you could score a few thousand for it!
19. Pinchers the Lobster – $3500
It was one of the first nine beanie babies to be created. Pinchers were released in 1994 and it was soon realized that there was a major mistake on the released beanie babies’ tags.
Many of the original Pinchers tags actually read “Punchers” instead of “Pinchers”.
Oops, that’s quite the mistake. If you can find one of the original, bright red lobsters with black button eyes and a black threaded antenna, you could be holding a pretty valuable lobster.
18. Nana the Monkey – $4000
Nana was short-lived, which makes her value significant. This beanie baby was created in 1995 and retired shortly after.
Ty created a different monkey, Bongo, who eventually took the monkey’s place.
If you find a monkey with a tush tag that says “Nana” and it does not contain the standard poem in the tag, that’s the monkey with the most value.
17. Peace the Bear – $5000
Peace the Bear holds some very exclusive qualities that make it an expensive find. It was the first beanie baby to have an embroidered emblem (a peace sign) on its chest.
Peace can occasionally be found without the embroidered emblem, which might actually increase its value.
The material that Peace was sewn in was a tie-dye pattern, so no two bears are alike, making them even more appreciated.
16. Snort the Red Bull – $6500
Snort was created as a replacement for another bull that was causing some issues for Ty. The original red bull was named Tabasco and Ty quickly was approached with a copyright infringement lawsuit from the hot sauce company and Tabasco was quickly replaced.
To increase the exposure of the new bull, this particular beanie baby was also part of an NBA basketball giveaway in 1999.
Five thousand beanie babies were given out as a promotional item at a Chicago Bulls vs. Miami Heat game. Both Tabasco and Snort are worth a ton of money in pristine condition.
15. Gobbles the Turkey – $6600
Check your Thanksgiving décor box for this guy. Gobbles was created in 1997. Check out the tail feathers of the turkey to see where it might hold its value.
Some of the feathers were attached at various heights, making some more valuable than others.
Another product difference is that he had a double or single-layer felt waddle.
If you have one with these particular differences and tag errors, have him checked out, he might be worth some money.
14. Seaweed the Beanie Baby – $7500
Seaweed was a cute and cuddly beanie baby that, again, was coated with errors and retired far too soon.
The first round of Seaweed beanie babies had some pretty substantial mistakes that make them extremely valuable today.
For example, the birth date is printed differently than the rest of the beanie babies. Seaweed’s date is all numbers and not written out like its counterparts.
There is no stamp, star, or heart printed on the tag. These problems were quickly fixed and the number of ones with the mistypes is hard to come by.
13. Halo the Bear – $7500
Halo the Bear was one of the first special edition beanie babies. The bear was created in 1998 and was not around for long.
Halo was retired shortly after, making it a very rare bear to find. Halo had a very special meaning to those giving and receiving the bear.
Each bear was symbolizing a child’s guardian angel. Some of the more rare Halo bears have a white star on their fur, while more standard bears have a yellow star.
Another oddity to look for with Halo is that the color of the nose and eyes should not exactly match.
If you can find one with these errors, as well as errors in the tush tag, you’ll be able to trade it in for thousands.
12. Princess the Bear – $10,000
This bear was created as a special edition bear in memory of Princess Diana after she died in 1997.
The proceeds from the sale of this bear went towards The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund. It’s a truly beautiful bear with a deep purple color and a single rose emblem on its chest.
However, it’s the insides of this bear that hold its value. Most of the bears were made with standard polyethylene pellets, which have no significance to the bear.
But if you can come across a bear stuffed with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pellets; those are worth extreme amounts of money. Some have even been listed for over six figures over the years.
11. McDonald’s International Bears – $10,000
Time to dig into the big bin of happy meal toys that you’ve been hoarding. Of course, McDonald’s jumped on board and joined forces with Ty to create miniature versions of the popular toys.
The set made its way into happy meals representing four different countries – Britannia for Britain, Erin for Ireland, Glory for the United States, and Maple for Canada.
In their original packaging, each bear can go for up to $10,000 each.
10. Iggy the Iguana – $15,000
Iggy has some character and his personality is what makes him one of the most popular beanie babies to date.
The fun characteristics that set each one apart are what the collectors are looking for. Some of the iguanas are made with a different color fabric, while others might have their tongue sticking in a different direction.
The crazier the better when it comes to Iggy the Iguana.
9. Patti the Platypus – $19,500
Patti was another one of the original nine beanie babies produced in 1993.
The original color is what makes her one of the most sought-after beanie babies. Her original magenta was later changed to three other shades of red and pink.
You can probably find versions with the latter of the red and pink colors, but if you can find one with the original magenta, you’re in luck.
That’s the one with the big price tag.
8. Brownie the Bear – $20,000
Brownie was another member of the original beanie babies. He is so original in that his tag did not come with the standard poem or birth date that most beanie babies come with.
He was born in 1993 and was quickly retired because of a naming mistake.
Once Brownie the Bear was out of the picture, he was replaced with Cubbie the Bear. If you find a brown bear with “Brownie” on the name tag, you’ve hit the jackpot!
7. Hippity, Hoppity, and Floppity the Bunnies – $30,000
This trio of bunnies retains their value when they are all still together. They are simple, colorful, and a fun bunch to have around during springtime. Maybe you even got some in your Easter basket.
If you were lucky enough to score these guys from the Easter Bunny back in the day, you could be selling them for over $30,000 for the set.
6. Claude the Crab – $40,000
This French-inspired crab also was made with the funky tie-dye fabric that makes every version of Claude one-of-a-kind. Claude is also another beanie baby who is prized for its flaws.
There are plenty of Claude’s out there without much value, but if you can find one with a rare flaw (like a tag with a star missing) you might be able to get a few thousand dollars for it.
5. Valentino the Bear – $42,300
Born on Valentine’s Day, Valentino might be the sweetest, sharpest beanie baby around. Finding one in perfect condition will be extremely difficult, but well worth the hunt.
He’s all white, soft, and adorable. If you can find a clean one with his name misspelled on the tag, you could sell it for over $42,000.
4. Curly the Bear – $45,000
With great mistakes, come great rewards, right? That’s the case for Curly.
He’s cute and all, but there isn’t much about him that sets him apart from a regular teddy bear or standard bear beanie baby. That’s unless you can find one that has the wrong tag.
There was a manufacturer error and there is a very small amount of Curlys out there without Curly in their “tush tag”.
If you find a mistagged brown bear, hold on to it tight. It might be worth over $45,000!
3. Lefty the Donkey and Righty the Elephant – $50,000
These festive, political donkeys are some of the most patriotic beanie babies you will come across.
They were created in the spring of 2008 prior to that year’s presidential election. They were first available for purchase at Cracker Barrel restaurants across the country.
The pair that holds the most value has a very specific characteristic. There is a pair floating around that have a certain someone’s autograph that drives up their price tag, and that’s of Hilary Clinton.
Track down that pair and you could be selling it for over $50,000.
2. Piccadilly Attic – $125,000
This guy is an odd-ball and he has the price tag to prove it. He was created in 1998 and was unlike most beanie babies.
He wasn’t the most popular beanie baby when it was created.
Maybe it was the clown theme or fuzzier fabric, but its unpopularity is now the reason it will sell for over $100,000.
“Laughter is the best medicine” is this guy’s catchy poem and you’ll be laughing all the way to the bank if you can hunt one down.
1. Bubbles the Fish – $176,000
Bubbles the Fish tops the list of most expensive beanie babies.
Who knew that this little fish would be worth so much?
Bubbles was created in 1996 and followed by a bunch of manufacturing abnormalities that make it worth a fortune today.
If you find a Bubbles with incorrect tags or a busted fin, the value might be well over $176,000!
Top 25 Most Expensive Beanie Babies in the World (Rankings)
Final Words
The fact that these little plush toys are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars is mind-blowing.
Clearly, Ty had some production issues when they launched this mega-product back in the 90s and now it’s working for the collector’s benefit. Have you ever sold a beanie baby for more than what you paid for it?
What other kinds of items do you think are out there that their flaws increase their value?
There are plenty of other unique toys and games out in the world that we can track down and would love to hear what you might have laying around that’s worth a lot of money.
Read More:
Hi, I am Kunika and as you can guess, I love numbers. I started Browsed Magazine to share interesting numbers behind celeb’s net worth, the most expensive stuff around, and top lists that’ll take you in for a surprise.
Hello Kunika,
I was wondering if you have any insight on collectors for TY Beanies as listed above. I have about 10 of these highly sought after babies with the errors and proper tush tags. We are older my child is grown and does not want them and we do not want to take everything with us when we move nor do we want to give it away.
Any insight is helpful.
Thank you,
Kristina
Hi Kristina, you should try registering at PlushCollector.com. They’re one of the largest websites and I’m sure you shall be able to find a buyer. Good luck 🙂
I have alot of ty beanie baby collection . and have alot of them that’s rare
Looking to sell. I have all the international ones from McDonalds still in their boxes. Never been opened.
how much
Looking to sell. I have all the international from McDonalds . Still in there boxes ready to sell
I have several Beanies all with proper tags excellent condition. I would like to get an estimate! I also have a original Paddington Bear! I also have an old stamp collection I found in a junk store with 4 or 5 valuable stamps. I am 81 years old and no transportation. Looking for an appraiser or buyer that could come to me! Thank you, G.A.C.J.
I have alot of ty beanie baby collection . and have alot of them that’s rare
I have lots of rare beanie babbies.
Would like to sell.