Not Toys, But Collector's Items: Bavarian Business Rolls Out 'Merkel Teddy Bear'

Other products previously made by the business venture that produced the “Merkel teddy bear” reportedly include “teddy bear replicas” of Barack Obama, Helmut Schmidt and Queen Elizabeth II.
Sputnik
As German Chancellor Angela Merkel is about to step down following the upcoming parliamentary election in the country, a series of “personality” teddy bears commemorating her time in the office has been produced at an enterprise in Coburg, Bavaria, Die Welt reports.
The 40-centimetre tall toy bears a certain resemblance to Merkel, sporting a hairstyle similar to hers; the bear’s paws can also be arranged to make Merkel’s famous hand gesture known as the “Merkel rhombus” (Merkel-Raute).
"We try to express moments of contemporary history in teddy bears as an art form," said Martin Hermann, the business’ managing director.
As the newspaper points out, the 101-year old family business that produced the bear in question has a history of making such toys that resemble famous people, including such “teddy bear replicas” of former US President Barack Obama, ex-Chancellor of Germany Helmut Schmidt and Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II.
“Everything that has a name and status in the world is presented in our showroom”, Hermann remarked.
He also pointed out that the teddy bears are not toys but rather are “collector’s items”.
A total of 500 “Merkel teddy bears” reportedly will be produced, priced 189 euros each. One of them, number 16 – a reference to the number of years Merkel spent in the office – is going to be presented to the Chancellor herself.
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