Schuco Yes/No Panda Bear, ca. 1955
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GUEST:
My father was in the Air Force, and he was over in Iceland, and he brought it over for my mother from Iceland, I believe, maybe in the late '50s, early '60s.
APPRAISER:
Okay.
GUEST:
I'm not real sure.
APPRAISER:
What you have is a bear that was made in Germany.
GUEST:
Oh, okay.
APPRAISER:
That found its way to Iceland. Your bear was made in the 1950s.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
So it was a new bear when he bought it. What you have is a bear made by Schuco.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And Schuco was a competitor of Steiff. They still make things today. They made a wide variety of bears and toys and cars. And what you have here is a very unusual bear. It's a Yes-No teddy bear.
GUEST:
Oh!
APPRAISER:
But what's rare, also, it's a panda bear. And the way it works is, there's a lever inside the tail, and you go like this, and he says, "No," but the "yes" part is not working well. The lever has a, a little detachment under there that's an easy fix. When you pulled it out of the bag, everybody at our table just went, "Ah!"
APPRAISER AND
GUEST:
(both laugh)
APPRAISER:
It's nice, because it's a larger size. He's 18 inches. He's in beautiful condition. He has no mohair loss, because they're wool, and the moths often get to them. And he's, his color is really good. Now, what do you think it's worth?
GUEST:
I have no idea. As a kid, he was always a scary bear.
APPRAISER:
(laughs)
GUEST:
And I wouldn't go near him. So, as an adult, probably the reason he's in such good shape is because I keeped him tuck a, tucked away, because I still don't look at him.
APPRAISER:
(laughs)
GUEST:
So, value-wise, I have no clue.
APPRAISER:
Okay. Well, the market has softened quite a bit on all teddy bears. But on today's market, in a retail situation, it would probably sell between $900 and $1,200.
GUEST:
Really?
APPRAISER:
Really.
GUEST:
Oh, my gosh.
APPRAISER:
(laughing)
GUEST:
Well, maybe I should keep him out and look at him more often.
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