Rare Middle Sister Wonderful Coloring Gold And Brown Steiff Flossy Tiger Fish ID 5 Years Only

Kiss a fish? Hmmm, Flossy is certainly puckering very invitingly. People kiss their teddy bears all the time, as well as, I am sure, lots of their other cuddly Steiff mohair critters. I know, the expression “cold fish” has some negative connotations. You should be able to see, however, that Flossy would make a nice companion for someone, and if you sneak a smooch in private, I’ll never tell.

This Flossy is the middle size of the three fishes that were made in this general pattern, one, in fact, that is so rare that I have never helped one of her sisters of this size and color find a new home. The only other gold Flossy of this size I have ever seen is the one who lives in my vitrine.

Flossy is in excellent condition, with full mohair and gorgeous coloring. Her colors are deep and vibrant—both her gold areas and brown tiger stripes, which could not have looked much different, if at all, 60 or so years ago when she left Giengen. Her kissable, slightly parted lips, as is the flat space between them that represents the inside of her mouth, are made from cantaloupe colored felt, and that central piece of felt has strong rose-colored airbrushed accents.

Flossy has only one, really inconsequential, issue, a teeny tiny chip in her left eye (which could be acrylic but looks like glass). The chip is not even visible from most normal display angles. I had to hold her “just so” even to capture a picture of the chip; see the enlarged inset in my fourth composite image.

The only other, really minor, thing, which is not part of Flossy, herself, that I want to mention, is her chest tag. It has a really minimal and shallow crease, starting at the hole and exiting diagonally, passing through the “F” in her name. There is also a tiny bit of wear to the red periphery of the tag, which apparently was caused by her very short attachment string (with two loops). If I were to rate the tag on a “1-10” scale, I would say it was an “8.5.”

Flossy’s article number was 2322,07, where you’d think that the “22” indicates centimeters. If you leave her tail fin out of your measurement, you get almost exactly that number—a bit less than 8 3/4 inches—when you measure her length from the outside of her lips to where her tail starts. If you include the distance to the furthest point on her tail, Flossy measures just under 11 inches, about 28 centimeters. In fact, Pfeiffer lists her size as 28 centimeters, so I don’t know what the “22” is for.

This Flossy is the rarest of the three colors she came in (the others were red and blue). In the other colors, this size Flossy was made until 1978, but this girl’s total production time was 1960 to 1964, even for the other sizes in gold. That is why she is so rare; she was made approximately 6 decades ago AND for so short a time. It is amazing to find a gold Flossy at all, let alone one in such nice condition! If you are attracted to this rare gold color of Flossy, her baby sister just swam into my shop. See my separate listing for her, and if you are a Steiff fish fan, you should check out the gold girls’ blue cousin.

I think I have covered everything you might want to know. If you are a fan of exotic and unusual Steiff animals, Flossy should be in your collection. If she is meant as a gift, the fish fan in your life will be delighted.

WHATEVER YOU DECIDE TO DO ABOUT FLOSSY 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.