Collecting Teddy Bears - A Profitable Hobby

Collecting Teddy Bears - A Profitable Hobby

Collecting teddy bears is a really great hobby. It often starts with your childhood teddy bear since many people find it hard to part with their "friend". They will keep it around for years and this makes a pretty good starting point for a collection of teddies.

Whether you collect expensive and hard to find antique bears or modern bears,you will derive great enjoyment from the search.

If you don't know much about about old teddy bears, you can certainly buy a book or reference guide to help you. There are plenty of books available which will provide you with the necessary information about the most popular and collectible bears.

If you enjoy going to auctions,thrift shops,garage sales,and flea markets you have a great source for teddy bears. You can find both antique and modern collectible bears for your collection.

If you know a bit about teddy bears you can try following online auctions. Auctions are one of the best ways to find the scarcer teddy bears. Your online search will obviously be a lot easier if you learn the names or kinds of teddy bears which are most collectible.

Collecting rare and valuable teddy bears definitely requires more knowledge. For this reason I would suggest researching the various types of bear and how you can identify them. You must know what to look for to identify a good collectible teddy bear. This knowledge will help you to build a really valuable collection of old bears.

Teddy bear collecting is a hobby which can be enjoyed by anyone. When you are out searching or browsing online for a teddy bear it will help immensely if you have researched the history of the manufacturers. Knowledge is the most important thing in collecting antiques. Bears are certainly no exception to this rule.

Most people are surprised to learn the history of teddy bears. The first teddy bears were produced in the year 1902. The story of American President Teddy Roosevelt and his bear hunt is very well known so I will not repeat it here. The Teddy bear was of course named after Teddy Roosevelt. In that same year the Steiff company in Germany produced a toy bear. Steiff bears,especially the early ones are among the most valuable bears for collectors.

Other well known manufacturers of collectible bears in the USA and England include Ideal, Merrythought, Chad Valley, Chiltern, Farnell and Hermann. If you are lucky enough find an old bear by any of these makers it is very collectible.

You can build a collection of teddy bears which will give you great enjoyment. Your collection will also continue to increase in value as years go by.