Within every smurf collection, there is at least one that you know it is important to have as part of your collection but you do not really fully understand why. Gold Smurf is a good example of this.
Gold Smurf was one of three, that was officially produced by Schleich in 1965. It was given the number 20005. All three shared the same mould though were painted differently to create their own character. The other two were Normal and Prisoner. This alone is one reason why Gold Smurf is highly collectible.
Gold and Normal Smurf shared the same markings and production releases until 1985. The only differences between the two were that Gold Smurf had a gold hat and pants; where as Normal had a white hat and pants.
Normal Smurf was released again in 2011 as part of the Schleich decade box set 1960 – 1969 and is fairly easy to find. On the other hand, Gold Smurf has not been reproduced since 1985 and was only available in the USA for two years. Making Gold Smurf a little harder to find.
Gold Smurf can still be found though in most cases the quality of the paint is very poor. This is a combination of the paint quality and whether or not it has been played with. Some Gold Smurfs have a tarnished colour look making them appear more bronze than gold. To find a Gold Smurf that is in mint condition is extremely rare.
Then there is always the markings……but that’s for another day
Keep on Smurfin
Kath B