1996 Peña COPPER PATINA Hyena Gargoyle on ebay?

Xjguy wrote:

Yes I seen this on the site already but at the bottom it says ” This is a cast gypsum reproduction of original” so the one on Ebay is stamped Peña 1996 wouldn’t that make it significantly more valuable? Jw because I see these Are $94 and the one on ebay starting bid is $500

The date is carved into the original sculpture just like the eye sockets, texture, etc., and it’s then used to make a mold. That means the date becomes part of the mold just like every other part of the gargoyle; every single gargoyle ever sold will say “1996,” the same way every one will have its feet in the same position, the same shaped beak, etc. The original sculpture lives somewhere at Windstone’s factory (or sometimes in Melody’s house!), and all Windstone figures are copies of that original. You’ll see the ‘reproduction of an original sculpture by Melody Pena’ text on every item’s page, because that’s how they’re all made.

Plenty of us forum members have one of a kind pieces. Only one ever made. A lot of ebay items also have several made (in example, 5 of the same item painted the same way). Those are (generally, not always) signed and numbered. There really is no reason to number every single item that leaves the store.

When it comes to copper patina, that coloration was made to salvage “bad” or “flawed” castings. If only five have currently been made, that likely means there haven’t been any flawed castings since. Personally I don’t know how these gargoyles were sold (ebay or the store), so I can’t really say anything for sure.

Windstone keeps the disclaimer up that they could at any time paint a piece in a previous color… that way they aren’t “trapped” into discontinuing something they want to paint again. That has, indeed, happened before.

Xjguy wrote:

Thank you for all the answers everyone apologies for my confusion. You would think windstone would leave the signature on the bust but put the actual date created and numbered. I found alot of information thanks to the windstone GURU Susie. It’s crazy to know only 5 copper patina hyena gargoyles exists today in the world in 2016 and none others have been created since then. But to this day the website still has it up that they could or could not make more in the future. If only 5 have been made In 2016 and it’s 2022 that has to be a big waiting list. Thank you everyone for the answers.

Susie is awesome! 🙂

And as she notes below, many one-of-a-kind or very limited pieces are numbered, but this is done by hand on the underside of the piece – it would be insanely time-consuming and complicated to create a new mold for every production run!

The Copper Patina color is pretty in itself, but knowing its extra history (as a means of saving things that came out of the mold with flaws) makes it extra cool to me; I love that it isn’t only pretty, but also has a purpose, Maybe one day there will be more Copper Patina gargoyles!