Rare Tiny Adorable Steiff Begging Diggy Badger All Id

This is the smaller of two Diggy badgers in this cute, standing-up, begging pose. He joins his big “walking” brother in my shop. Little Diggy was not made many years—only between 1959 and 1966, made in two series with the same article number, 4310,00. I know, from his glass eyes and early-style raised script button with skinny letters that Diggy is a member of the earlier series, made between 1959 and 1964.

The “10” in his number denotes Diggy’s height in centimeters. He is pretty close to his catalogue designation, measuring just under four inches high to the top of his head.

But for a factory-caused problem (see below), I would say that Diggy is in excellent condition—and I mean that absolutely, not “for his age.” If you want to bring age into the discussion, you can say that Diggy is in excellent condition DESPITE his age. His mohair is full, and his coloring is wonderful., including his black areas, which probably are no different from the way they looked when Diggy left Giengen.

Interestingly, his black front side and tail are midnight black, while the outsides of his face and arms APPEAR to be faded and/or thinning. I say “interestingly,” because the apparent lesser intensity/coverage is due, I believe, to the fact that the fabric under those areas is gold, while the fabric under his chest and tail is black. I don’t know why that is the case, but I believe, after close scrutiny, that the coverage and intensity of the black on those “over-gold” areas are the same as the rest of him. In any case. Diggy looks wonderful on display.

Diggy’s mixed coloring is noteworthy because it undergoes subtle changes as the mohair extends down different parts of his body. He is white on the top of his head, but as the central strip goes down his back, the color changes to very light tan. Likewise, the “gold-ish” areas at the sides of his face and the lower parts of his arms change gradually to tan. While there is no sharp dividing line between the gold and the tan, the change in color seems to occur approximately at the middle of his body (where it bends in). The tan color wraps around his thighs on either side, curving underneath, where it meets the black extending down from his chest and belly. I know that a picture is worth a thousand words, but I don’t know how Diggy looks on your monitor.

Speaking of color one last time, I did not fully present the nice black and rose airbrushed accents on his white felt paws. Those areas, too, could not possibly differ much, if at all, from the way they looked when Diggy left Giengen.

With all this positive description, I have to add one not-so-good detail about Diggy, and although it probably became worse after Diggy left the factory, its CAUSE occurred AT the factory. I am referring to the state of his button/flag attachment.

Because Diggy’s ears are so tiny, it is always really nice to find one who still has his button, but things looked like they would soon change if I did not intercede.

Diggy’s button and flag were attached as close to the edge and tip of his ear as they could have been, AND his flag was already seriously torn (with the probable cause of that a little nick in the fabric that started when the button was attached). I pictured what it would be like to wrap him for shipping to his new owner, and I feared he might arrive at his new home with his button and flag lying next to him in the tissue paper. I decided I had to do something but I was nervous about executing the repair, because that meant touching and moving the flag and his ear and puncturing the already-torn flag with a needle.

I am usually very pleased and proud to report the repairs I do to my animals, but in this case, although I had little choice, the result, though successful in keeping his button and flag attached to his ear, was not as aesthetic as were the many similar repairs I have done. I did manage to make the front of his ear look OK for display, but, unlike with other similar repairs, my work is visible from the back. My repair ended up covering the “00” after the comma on his article number, but I was in no position to be that selective in where I put my stitches.

I can’t think of anything else you’d want to know, but please write if you have a question. Because Diggy is so cute and so rare, he would still make a wonderful addition to your collection, or that of a Steiff (or badgers) collector you want to surprise with a gift.

WHATEVER YOU DECIDE TO DO ABOUT DIGGY 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.