Batty the Bat is the only Beanie Baby with a velcro element, and he remains a popular figure among collectors. Dating to 1997, he was in production for just two years and is considered one of the rarer Beanie Babies out there.

Cosmopolitan has claimed Batty could be worth as much as $125,000, but most completed sales on eBay show that Batty typically sells for under $100. However, errors in the manufacturing process could boost the value of your Batty. Read on to find out more about the history of this unique toy and how the condition of yours could affect its value.

Over the franchise’s three-decade existence, most Beanie Babies have taken the form of bears – from Aware the Bear (released to promote breast cancer awareness) to Z the Alphabet Bear. However, the very first Beanie Babies of 1993 were a range of creatures from the animal kingdom.

The original nine Beanie Babies were Legs the Frog, Squealer the Pig, Spot the Dog, Flash the Dolphin, Splash the Whale, Chocolate the Moose, Patti the Platypus, Brownie the Bear and Pinchers the Lobster.

Animal Beanies remained popular throughout the 90s, and in 1997, Beanie Baby creators Ty Warner Inc came up with Batty the Bat.

This soft toy has curled conical ears, black bead eyes, brown felt feet and clawed thumbs, plus a pink nose. Two main versions exist: one is a mid-brown, and the other is decorated with a dark blue tie-dye. Batty differed from his 1995 predecessor Radar the Bat, who had bright red eyes and a black body.

In particular, Batty is unique among the Beanie Babies for his velcro. The inclusion of this unusual element made it possible to wrap Batty up in his own wings, as if he were roosting.

Batty was first released on October 7, 1997, in the run-up to Halloween. The other characters released in the same month were Gobbles the Turkey and Snowball the Snowman.

Batty shared his name with a popular character voiced by Robin Williams. The 1992 movie FernGully featured Williams as Batty Koda, a bat who goes on an adventure to save his rainforest home.

Like all Beanies, Batty came with a folded card tag containing a poem. His personalised rhyme read:

“Bats may make some people jitter
Please don’t be scared of this critter
If you’re lonely or have nothing to do
This Beanie Baby would love to hug you!”

On eBay.com, Batty the Bat is currently listed for sums as high as $10,000, with many other offers ranging from $1,000 to $7,000. However, the highest-value completed sales on eBay only reach $125.

Any Beanie Baby with a manufacturing error is worth far more than its normal counterparts, and Batty is no exception. Various collectors have noted the rarity of ‘Extra Foot Batty‘, who has a third foot protruding from under his belly.

One Etsy seller is currently offering an error Batty for over $50,000. They noted that the errors are an “extra space between “you !” at last line of poem”, and “No Red Stamp inside of [the Tush Tag] loop”.

Batty the Bat was discontinued in 1999, but Ty decided to create a new bat character just four years later. BAT-e the Bat has a very different look: he is jet black, with gnashing white fangs and an orange nose. He wears an orange ribbon around his neck. Introduced and retired in 2003, BAT-e is less valuable than the original Batty.