Updated March 10, 1999: The auction closed Feb. 25, and was a HUGE success!!
The 29 Nanook Beanie Babies who accompanied the Quest teams raised over $11,000 (US) to support the race and injured musher Peter Zimmerman.
This page is being kept 'live' as a reference for Beany Baby collectors who want to know where this special edition Nanook originated.
The 1999 Yukon Quest sled dog race started on February 13th at 11:00 AM Alaska time - on Thursday February 18 at 8:00 AM, a unique 7-day auction began
at eBay. Up for auction were 29 Nanook Beanie Babies - but not just any Nanooks. These 29 have a long list of special add-ons to identify them as Yukon Quest Nanooks, but the
most unique feature is that each and every one of them was an honourary member of an actual Yukon Quest sled team, traveling 1,000 miles through the Alaska and Yukon wilderness,
from Fairbanks to Whitehorse!
The Yukon Quest is "The Toughest Sled Dog Race in the World" - even most Iditarod mushers will agree that it's true. Not all teams are able to complete the race, and so it will be
with each team's Nanook. But regardless of the distance they cover, each and every team will assist in this fund-raising effort to assist injured musher Peter Zimmerman, and the Yukon Quest
organization. For an enlargement of the wonderful artwork by Chris Caldwell which appears on the cover of Nanook's numbered certificate, click on the photo to the right.
Every Nanook:
is a new, genuine Beanie Baby, made by Ty, with all factory tags in place;
is individually-numbered by the Yukon Quest, with a certificate explaining the relationship between Nanook, the Yukon Quest, and the Peter Zimmerman Recovery Fund;
wears a black-and-white Yukon Quest ribbon around its neck (photo);
wears a handmade, individually-numbered race bib (see
photo) - most (but not all) will have the same bib number as their team, and their own registration number;
comes with a 1999 Yukon Quest patch for your jacket (photo)
comes with a 1999 Yukon Quest collector's pin;
will accompany their assigned team for the duration of the Yukon Quest, protected in the musher's sled in a water-and-bearproof container
For a complete list of the Yukon Quest Nanook numbers, and the teams they will be traveling with,
click here.
Mushers Helping Mushers
On December 22, 1997, Yukon Quest musher Peter Zimmerman was severely injured when he hit a tree while on a training run near Whitehorse.
This auction is part of a huge community effort to assist Peter and his family. For an account of the accident and the first awful days following it, click
here.
Special Nanooks:
First Place Yukon Quest Nanook will receive a "golden harness" (worth $25), a beautiful hand-made miniature dog sled (worth $87 - see photo below), and the 1999 Yukon Quest Commemorative gold coin by Anne Doyle (worth $75);
Second Place Yukon Quest Nanook will receive a 1999 Yukon Quest Commemorative Silver Coin by
Ann Doyle (worth $50);
First Yukon Quest Nanook and Musher into Dawson City will be presented with a vial of real Klondike gold dust (value $50), donated by the
Downtown Hotel
Last Place Yukon Quest Nanook will receive the traditional "Red Lantern" in miniature, and a specially made Yukon Quest miniature "dog blanket."
Nanooks #1 and #2 are not for sale - Nanook #1 will be presented to Peter Zimmerman, and Nanook #2 will receive a highly visible place of honour in the Yukon Quest Store in Whitehorse.
The sled that will be included with the Nanook running with the winning team in the 1999 Yukon Quest.
With Nanook #3 leading, a few of the Yukon Quest Nanooks head out on a training run in the forest near Whitehorse,
getting ready for the 1999 Yukon Quest
