In May of 2023 Ty Inc. announced they would be releasing “series II” 30th anniversary editions of original styles that would be sent to select retailers for a single shipment. Trying to recapture the magic of the originals, and to commemorate the launch of beanie babies 30 years prior, these styles began to be released, mostly in departure designs from their original versions. The first three styles to be released were Bongo II, Bones II, and Valentino II – reaching retailers by the end of May.
This post focuses on the more limited editions released in the UK with special hang tags. On the Ty UK and Hamley’s Instagram pages, it was announced that Hamley’s would be the first UK retailer to have these first three styles for sale in the UK. Additionally, on May 31st, there would be 30 of each style released with a special numbered hang tag. The general setup of these tags is in line with the gold tag Elizabeth bears – hidden behind the main tag – only visible upon inspection. These are very easy to miss if you do not know what to look for. In fact, when Hamley’s opened that morning, there was mass confusion on where these pieces were being held. These are by far the most limited retail release beanies Ty has ever done that have gone directly out to the public via retail channels. Pictures of the special tags below. The reverse has a special “Beanie Babies are Back!” phrase. There was also a unique UK sticker added to the back white heart tag addition that was placed behind the special red tag. We only saw this sticker on the series 1 Hamley’s released pieces.
Rarity Tier: Elite Rare
With a maximum population of 30 per style, we are in extremely limited territory here. Of those 30, very few are expected to reach the collecting community. We would estimate extremely few sets will ultimately survive for these series I pieces. Why you ask? Remember, unlike Billionaires or Ty #1 Rep bears, these pieces (especially this first wave) went out to a number of unsuspecting casual collectors who missed these tags entirely/gave them away to children. Not to adults who knew what they had/to push these pieces to the collecting community. The buyers who did secure these were general resellers in the UK who knew little about the Ty line. Others, purchased by casual collectors, without a doubt, ended up lost/destroyed/undiscovered. This is a similar story for the gold Elizabeth pieces.
Rarest Beans 