Rare Earliest Model Tiny Sister Steiff Coco Baboon All ID Famous Red Bottom

Meet Coco baboon. She joins many relatives in my shop, both distant and far, including my rare gibbon and several versions of Jocko, the chimpanzee. And of course, probably the rarest of all is Coco’s seated large early post war brother.

This wonderful ape is in excellent-minus condition. Her once-gray body is now taupe, but the color is denser than my images may make it seem. The other reason for downgrading Coco’s condition is the thinning of the white mohair that frames her wonderfully expressive face (made so with fabulous airbrushing).

Coco is not often found on the secondary market, since she was not made for that many years, the last of which for this smallest (of 3), 10-centimeter, size was 1970. This Coco is among the earliest made. With this article number, 1310,0, Coco was made between 1952 and 1958. Knowing that and considering her fantastic condition, she is one rare girl to add to your collection. By the way, I am NOT assessing Coco’s condition “for her age!” Her condition is wonderful no matter what her age is.

Aside from the aforementioned thinning in the white mohair frame to her face, Coco’s mohair coverage is full. And although the underlying color has changed slightly, Coco has strong brown accents on her taupe body, head, legs, and tail. Worthy of mention is the fact that her tail is poseable (with wire inside), and it is stiff and fully stuffed (even at the juncture with her famous red 😉 behind). Her cantaloupe-colored face and those fantastic pointy ears each have their share of fantastic airbrushing too.

Completing her fabulous look, both Coco’s flag and chest tag are in excellent, crisp condition, and although her red leather collar shows a touch of wear, it, too, is very nice.

About her flag, there is one thing I want to note, which is common on the flags of animals with tiny felt ears. One of the prongs on Coco’s button missed her ear and is folded over on to itself. This is a factory booboo, and you don’t have to worry about it; the other prong is holding her flag in place. I am showing you the back of the button in my third composite image.

Oh yes, I mentioned Coco’s 10-centimeter size, as denoted by the “10” in her article number. She is actually a bit bigger at 10.5 centimeters, about 4 1/4 inches high to the top of her (swivel) head. As her tail is posed now Coco’s vertical measurement doesn’t change much (if you are calculating how much display space you will need). Coco is 4 3/8 inches tall to the highest point of the curve in her tail.

I can’t think of anything else to tell you, since, in addition to what I have already said, you have several really nice pictures to review (and I think she looks even nicer in person!). Of course, please write if you have a question. Coco is rare and wonderful, and she deserves a place in your collection. If you can part with her once you have seen her, she would make the Steiff or ape collector in your life absolutely delighted.

WHATEVER YOU DECIDE TO DO ABOUT COCO OR ANY OF MY OTHER STEIFF ITEMS, PLEASE BE SURE TO SEE THE ARTICLE I HAVE WRITTEN ABOUT STEIFF ID 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 MARCH, 2023.