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Grin and Bear It

Name: Grin and Bear It
Artist: Peter Calvesbert
Item No: TJBUBE
Collection Name: Treasure Jest
Subset Name: Small Treasure Jest
Exclusive To:
Made In: England
Status: Fixed Edition
Carving Date: 2009
Release Date: 3/9/2009
In Store Date: 5/25/2009
Retirement Date:
Edition Size: 600
US Issue Price in USD: $75
UK Issue Price in GBP: £
CAN Issue Price in CND: $
Category: Box Figurine
Dimensions (Inches): 3 x 2 x 3.25
Ordering Information: Available at select HK dealers or through the secondary market.

S e c r e t s

With the worldwide stock market debacle, Peter’s “Grin and Bear It” is a timely box figurine. A bull market is when stock prices are climbing, and a bear market is when they’re languishing. We all unfortunately know which animal is prevailing. A common myth is that the terms "bull market" and "bear market" are derived from the way these animals attack a foe - bears attack by swiping their paws downward and bulls toss their horns upward. This is a useful mnemonic, but not the true origin of the terms. Long ago, "bear skin jobbers" were known for selling bear skins that they did not own (the bears had not yet been caught). This was the original source of the term "bear." It was eventually used to describe short sellers, speculators who sold shares that they did not own. Because bull and bear baiting were once popular sports, "bulls" was understood as the opposite of "bears". Bulls were those people who brought the expectation that a stock price would rise, not fall. Carved on the base of Peter’s bull and bear are the major stock market indices throughout the world. Inscribed on the lid are market crash years – 1637 (the Tulip crash), 1720 (the South Sea bubble), 1929 (the Wall Street crash), 1987 (Black Monday), and 2008 (as yet unnamed). Within “Grin and Bear It” are tulips, commemorating the first recorded speculative bubble, which took place in Holland in 1637, when bulbs of the newly-introduced tulip reached extraordinary highs and then suddenly collapsed.



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