If you were alive in the late nineties, you remember the fever. It wasn't just about cute plush toys filled with plastic pellets; it was a speculative bubble that rivaled the Dutch Tulip Mania. But even decades after the craze cooled off, one specific date keeps popping up in forums, eBay listings, and estate sale catalogs: Beanie Baby May 9th.
Why that date?
It isn't just a random Tuesday in spring. For the initiated, May 9, 1998, represents a turning point in the Ty Inc. timeline. It was the day of a massive "Beanie Event" at McDonald's, a moment that epitomized the peak of the Teenie Beanie Baby phenomenon. People weren't just buying Happy Meals for the nuggets. They were buying them by the dozen, sometimes dumping the food in the trash right outside the golden arches, just to get their hands on a tiny, plastic-wrapped version of a moose or a bear.
Honestly, it was chaos.
The McDonald's Frenzy and the May 9 Connection
To understand why Beanie Baby May 9th matters, you have to look at the 1998 Teenie Beanie Baby promotion. McDonald's and Ty Warner had a partnership that essentially printed money. The promotion began in April, but by May 9, the scarcity was hitting a fever pitch.
Collectors were tracking ship dates like they were military intelligence. By the second week of May, specific characters like "Erin" the green bear (celebrating Ireland) and "Britannia" the bear (for the UK) were supposed to be hitting specific regions.
If you walked into a McDonald's on May 9, 1998, you might have seen grown adults shouting at teenagers behind the counter. It sounds ridiculous now. Back then, it was an investment strategy. People genuinely believed these four-inch toys would pay for their kids' college tuition. Spoiler: mostly, they didn't.
But there’s another layer to the May 9th obsession. In the world of "Original" Beanie Babies—the full-sized ones—birthdays and poem dates are everything.
Does a May 9 Birthday Make a Beanie Rare?
Ty Warner was a marketing genius because he gave every toy a soul. Or, at least, a name and a birthday. If you check the "tush tag" or the "heart tag" (the hang tag) of your old collection, you’ll see specific dates.
Several notable Beanie Babies share a May 9th birthday or anniversary.
- Roary the Lion: One of the most iconic big cats in the lineup. Roary was born on May 9, 1996. Because Roary went through several design iterations—specifically regarding the mane—collectors often look for the May 9 birthday on specific "generations" of tags.
- Pounce the Cat: Another heavy hitter from the mid-nineties. Pounce was born on May 9, 1997.
- Spunky the Cocker Spaniel: This little dog also claims the May 9, 1997, birthday.
When people search for Beanie Baby May 9th, they are usually trying to verify if the "May 9" printed on their toy's tag makes it a "retirement" rarity or a common find.
Here is the cold, hard truth: the date alone rarely makes a Beanie Baby valuable. What matters is the tag generation. If you have a Pounce or a Roary with a May 9 birthday, but it has a 5th or 6th generation heart tag (the common ones from the late 90s), it’s probably worth about $5. Maybe $10 if the buyer is feeling nostalgic.
However, if that May 9 birthday is attached to a 3rd generation tag—the ones without the "star" on the front—you’re looking at real money. We’re talking hundreds, sometimes low thousands, depending on the condition and the "bloom" of the fabric.
The "May 9" Misconception: Errors and Oddities
In the world of high-stakes collecting, "errors" are the holy grail. You've probably seen those eBay listings. "RARE ERROR BEANIE BABY MAY 9TH BIRTHDAY."
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Most of these are scams. Or at least, they are wildly optimistic.
Collectors often get confused because Ty Inc. would sometimes update a poem or a birthday between production runs. There is a persistent myth that some Beanie Babies have "wrong" birthdays printed on them. While some genuine tag errors exist—like the wrong name printed on the tush tag or a misspelled city (like "Gasport" instead of "Gosport")—a May 9 birthday is usually just a standard production detail.
Wait. There is one weird thing.
In the 1998 McDonald's Teenie Beanie run, there were "official" end dates and "official" release dates. Some collectors swear that May 9 was the specific day the "international" bears were pulled from shelves to make room for the next wave. This created a localized "short squeeze." If a store ran out on May 9, that was it. No more Britannia. No more Erin.
That artificial scarcity drove the secondary market prices through the roof for a few weeks. It's why the date is burned into the brains of Gen X and Boomer collectors who spent their Saturday mornings driving between franchises.
How to Check if Your May 9 Beanie is Actually Worth Something
Stop looking at the date for a second. Put down the tag.
If you want to know if your Beanie Baby May 9th find is a jackpot, you need to look at three very specific things that have nothing to do with the calendar.
- The PVC vs. PE Pellets: Flip the tush tag over. If it says "PVC Pellets," it’s an earlier version. PVC was phased out for PE (polyethylene) because it was considered more environmentally friendly (and cheaper). Collectors prefer PVC because it’s a sign of an older, "original" run.
- The Stamp Inside the Tush Tag: If there is a red stamp inside the tush tag (usually a number), it means it was mass-produced in a specific factory. These are generally less valuable. Collectors want the "no stamp" versions.
- The Tag Generation: This is the big one. If the heart tag is flat (no gold foil, no star), it’s an early generation. If it’s the classic "star" tag we all know, it’s mass-market.
It’s kinda funny how we used to think these were like gold bars. Honestly, most of them are just cute dust collectors now. But the "May 9" cohort—Roary, Pounce, and Spunky—remain favorites because they represent the era when the designs were still simple and "classic." They didn't have the garish patterns or the overly complex themes of the later years.
The Psychological Grip of the "May 9th" Era
Why do we still care?
It’s nostalgia, sure. But it’s also the "What If" factor. We all heard the stories of the woman who sold a Peanut the Royal Blue Elephant for five grand. We all hope that the box in our attic contains a misplaced fortune.
May 9, 1998, was arguably the peak of the mania. By 1999, Ty announced they were stopping production entirely (a brilliant marketing lie that they eventually walked back), and the bubble started to hiss. But on May 9, the dream was still alive. People were still "investing."
When you look at a Beanie Baby May 9th tag, you’re looking at a relic of a time before the internet completely democratized price checking. Back then, you needed a "Beanie Handbook" or a price guide from a magazine rack. You couldn't just pull out a smartphone and see that there are 5,000 other Roary the Lions for sale for $4.99.
That mystery—the idea that your specific May 9th kitty might be the one—is what keeps the search volume high.
Actionable Steps for Beanie Baby Owners
If you've just dug a box of Beanies out of the garage and noticed a May 9 birthday, here is exactly what you should do. Don't quit your day job yet.
First, check the "Hang Tag" generation. Use a site like BeaniePedia or TyCollector to identify if you have a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd generation tag. If the tag has a star, it's likely a 4th generation or later. These are common.
Second, look at the condition of the heart tag. Even a tiny crease can drop the value by 50%. Collectors are brutal. If you have a Roary with a May 9 birthday but the tag is ripped off, it’s essentially a dog toy.
Third, check for the "Made in Indonesia" label. For some reason, specific runs made in Indonesia (versus China) had different fabric textures or slightly different "pelt" colors that collectors find desirable.
Finally, ignore the "sold" listings on eBay that show prices like $10,000 for a common Beanie. Those are often money laundering schemes or fake sales meant to manipulate the market. Look for "Completed Items" and filter by the lowest price to see what people are actually paying.
Most May 9th Beanies—Spunky, Pounce, and Roary—sell for between $3 and $15 in today’s market. It’s not a fortune, but it’s a nice trip down memory lane.
To get a real sense of your collection's value, begin by sorting your Beanies by the "Generation" of the heart tag rather than the birthday. Focus your research on any toy that lacks a star on the tag or has no "UK" address listed inside the wing. Those are your potential winners. For the rest, the May 9th birthday is simply a charming piece of trivia from a time when the world went collectively mad over a handful of beans.