In all of our travels and Steiff collecting, we have those wonderful pieces at home that we prize as being the best of our collection.  Sometimes those pieces are mint with all of their factory tags, but most of the time they just have tons of character!!!!  What makes a great piece of Steiff so wonderful?  After the amazingly creative people at the Steiff factory in Germany make each and every new animal by hand, they become alive.  Being that each one is unique and different, it is good to not become a "button and tag" collector.  For many years in my own collection, I would buy the best pieces I could find.  I defined those pieces by the quality of the mohair and the crispness of the yellow stock tag and chest tag.  What I have found is this, not every piece of Steiff with perfect tags is a "prize of the collection".  I try to look at each piece of Steiff that I buy now with a more open view.  Look at his/her expression, how long the limbs are and how the eyes sit on the head.  Just like with people, a very small change can vastly change the way somebody looks.  If you just buy for the tags, you could miss finding a wonderful new addition for your collection.  Personality and character makes each piece of Steiff special.  If this helps, please click on the "yes" button below so that other people can learn about this potential problem (or you can email me if I can help in any way).