This is the 3rd and final famous Teddy in the bear triumvirate also containing Picasso and the Dollar teddy – both famous pieces reviewed in previous articles: https://rarestbeans.com/2022/12/08/the-dollar-teddy-bear-prototype/ and https://rarestbeans.com/2021/12/09/the-picasso-teddy-bear-prototype/ . These bears came to light in an extraordinary find/pull of pieces by one of the very reputable dealers selling prototypes during the 2003/2004 proto-gate period. These three bears stood out because they were so wild, so unique – such strong Ty departures! The “Shaggy” bear is complete with advent tags, and has such wild textured fur – no piece at that time or in the future ever came close to the wildness of this piece. All three bears sat in a six-figure collection for over a decade until finally resurfacing a few years back when the original collector moved on from the hobby. Pictures attached below, including the bears as they were originally photographed before original authentication, and then in the deep collection they were buried in until around 2013 (with a few other pieces from that collection).
Rarity Rank: 0 to -0.5. This piece like its counterparts, while not the oldest, is quite famous, and so utterly unique! A -1 style to the right collector. This is another piece that to this day, like Picasso and Dollar teddy, has not been matched in terms of design departure.
Rarest Beans 