Next To Smallest Steiff Begging Possy Red Squirrel All ID

This squirrel, who I think is most assuredly red, is, according to Steiff, an instance of the “brown” Possy. I presume Steiff is referring to Possy’s dark airbrushed accents, and yes, Possy’s are somewhat faded, but his main “red,” or maybe “burnt orange,” would be more accurate, color is very strong. If you look up “red squirrel” on Google, you will see Possy’s in the flesh relatives.

Those faded brown accents are the only thing I need to point out that are different from the way Possy looked when he left Giengen. To be really nitpicking, I guess his white areas MAY have been a bit brighter, but I think his overall coloring (and the rest of his attributes) put him strongly in the “very good” category. I mean that absolutely, not “for his age,” a statement that makes no sense to me. I say that because (if you are lucky!) you might find a pristine Steiff antique, just as you might find an animal that was 10 years old who looked awful.

You can certainly bring age into it and say that Possy is in very good condition DESPITE his age. I will have to hedge on precisely WHAT his age actually is, although it is well over half a century in any case. That is because one attribute I often use to help determine an animal’s age is its eyes—whether they are glass or plastic. Unfortunately, I am never quite sure with Steiff’s black eyes, since they have no pupils, and it is the relationship of pupils to irises in Steiff animals that enables me to be confident about glass vs. plastic.

In fact, Possy’s age would only be a few years different from one series to the other, since there were two series with Possy’s article number, 4314,01.

Another thing that helps me determine an animal’s age is the kind of button it has in its ear. With that criterion, since Possy’s button has the early kind of raised script, with skinny letters, I would say he was from the earlier series. In any case, Possy’s entire production with 4314,01 was from 1959 to 1967, and his “book value” is the same for both. 🙂

Back to his number, it is faded, but now that you know what it is, you may be able to make it out in my inset enlarged picture. If you still can’t, I believe you will be able to when you see Possy in person.

Possy’s very good condition includes not only his mohair coloring, but also its plentitude. His short-cropped body mohair is full, and his longer-hair tail is bushy and nice. The one area you might THINK has wear is Possy’s ears. However, that is Steiff’s take on what squirrels’ ears actually look like. Again, you can look in Google for a real-life comparison. 🙂

Speaking of hair, whiskers are also hair of a sort (although Steiff’s whiskers are plastic). I do want you to know that Possy has a complete set—four on each side of his nose.

OK, there is one last thing about Possy’s number 🙂 The “14” denotes his height in centimeters, measured to the top of his head. He’s punier than that, measuring about 11.5 cm., or 4 1/2 inches. You’ll need a little more generous display room for him—to include his ears (and flag).

I can’t think of anything else to tell you, but please write if you have any questions. Whether you collect Steiff woodland animals, or squirrels of all kinds, you, or the intended recipient if Possy is meant as a gift, will go nuts 😉 over him.

WHATEVER YOU DECIDE TO DO ABOUT POSSY OR ANY OF MY OTHER STEIFF ITEMS, PLEASE BE SURE TO SEE THE ARTICLE I HAVE WRITTEN ABOUT STEIFF FRAUD—INCLUDING COUNTERFEIT CHEST TAGS—(AND OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR COLLECTORS). YOU WILL FIND THE LINK ON THE BOTTOM RIGHT OF MY SHOP HOME PAGE UNDER “FAVORITE LINKS.” IF YOU HAVE NOT LOOKED AT IT RECENTLY, I UPDATED AND EXPANDED IT IN DECEMBER, 2022.