Garcia the Bear

Garcia is a tie-dyed bear who was retired early, on 11 May 1997, and replaced the same day by Peace. Because of the tie-dye fabric, no two Garcias are the same. He shares that fabric with Coral.

Collectors take the name to commemorate Jerry Garcia, guitarist for the Grateful Dead. The back cover of the album History of the Grateful Dead, Volume 1 shows a drawing of bears, the bear shares Garcia's birthday of 1 August, and the bear was introduced five months after Jerry Garcia died. That remains speculation rather than anything Ty confirmed.

The early retirement followed an alleged lawsuit from the Garcia family, claiming the name had been used without the family's permission. Ty's answer was to retire Garcia and bring out Peace on the same day, 11 May 1997. Peace is the same bear apart from the name, the tags and the peace symbol on the chest, so the chest is the check when the tags are missing.

Counterfeit versions of Garcia exist, though no specific tells have been recorded for him.