Hi David,

Thank you for contacting Mearto with your appraisal inquiry.

Beanie Babies (BBs) were enormously popular in the 1990s and widely collected, with the consequence that now there are many "on the market" without nearly enough demand for the supply so values on most individual beanie babies are low.

The BB market is often subject to overvaluation and there are myths surrounding BB values, both for ones with - and without - tag errors (for discussion on tag errors, see https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22870250/nft-beanie-baby-price-guide-bubble-princess-value ).

Websites like eBay and Etsy - which are unregulated - are rampant with fraudulent sellers posting BB at exorbitantly high prices and then the BBs either don't sell or sell privately at undisclosed prices. (For an article that goes into detail about this, see: https://www.vice.com/en/article/epnwmn/investigating-the-fake-ebay-market-for-dollar25000-beanie-babies).

Most Beanie Babies - around 99.999999999% of them - have a fair-market value of less than $15 when sold at auction, particularly if they are not in cases; even if they are in cases, they usually don't bring more than $30.

This is the first version Ty issued, in 1995 and it had 6 stitched lines on its back. It was soon rereleased with 7 and 9 stitched lines on its back before the final design, released in late 1996, had 9 lines AND a stitched shell border, which is the most common.

As the early model, this is rarer than the later ones but not an anomaly; I've found a couple of other early six-line versions that have sold at auction for around $40.

Based on the photos and information provided, and subject to examination, this is:

A near vintage Ty "Tank the Armadillo" Beanie Baby
issued in 1995
Gray armadillo with six shell plates, with a tush tag and heart-shaped swing ear tag. In a plastic case
CONDITION: Very good
PROVENANCE: Inherited
$30-50*
*represents a fair-market value for auction purposes; retail or asking price may vary.

Please let us know if you have additional items to appraise, or questions/concerns, and thank you again for using Mearto.
~ Delia