Pre–1st Generation UK Rectangle Hang Tag by Karen Boeker
This is the rarest of all hang tags. Let’s go back 24 years to 1994.
Ty Inc.’s very first shipment of “Original 9” Beanies arrives in the UK with regular 1st generation red heart hang tags, however they did not have the country’s required information on them. They needed the CE mark (Conformite Europeenne) to confirm they met the safety standards required to enter the country. Hence, the 1st gen red heart tags were removed from the Beanies and these Pre-1st generation rectangle tags were put on.
Immediately after this requirement of the CE mark (Conformite Europeenne) was recognized, Ty had the rare white TY (UK) LTD. stickers made with the added “CE” mark. Instead of destroying the 1st gen red heart tags, he was able to reuse the tags by adding these white UK stickers to meet the required safety standards.
There is not much uniformity with the hole punch location and this often confuses buyers. The hole was punched by hand, not machine. The color of the tag attacher can be red or clear/white. These white rectangle tags were produced very quickly and are not very good quality.
There have been various rumors about the number of each of the Original 9 with this tag. Whatever the original number was (rumors between 36 of each to 220 of each) there are very few left today.
The “Original 9” Pre-1st generation Beanies are:
- Chocolate
- Cubbie
- Flash
- Legs
- Patti
- Pinchers
- Splash
- Spot without a spot
- Squealer
As always, we strongly recommend having an authenticator examine the Beanie and tags to be sure it is the real thing. Authentication protects all parties involved.
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