This Commemorative Pewter Michael Ricker Statue 22/250 is in excellent condition. Only 250 of these were produced before his death in 2006. He produced these sometime before his death and it was released after his death. Those individuals that were lucky enough to have acquired one evidently has no intention of parting with it. This was secured from an estate in which the owner had almost every pewter item produced by Ricker. The family did not want the pewter figurines and sold the entire collections. I picked this one because of the segmental value and rarity of the item. It has a copper plate in which the statue of Ricker sits and it measures 10" tall with a base of 7 3/4" x 8". Weighs about 13 pounds. A little history: Michael Ricker Pewter introduced its first line of pewter collectibles in 1968. Each successive year since they began, Michael Ricker Pewter has produced an ever-increasing number of pewter castings. Each year over 250 tons of Old English Pewter ingots are melted down to cast Michael's limited-edition sculptures and other works-of-art. At one time, the Casting Studio employs over 100 people and over 250,000 individual pewter collectibles are made annually by the Casting Studio. Hours of hand work and personal attention by highly skilled and trained crafts people are given to each casting which adds a personal dimension of character to each individual pewter sculpture and figurine produced by Michael Ricker. Known to many as a celebrated and accomplished sculptor for more than four decades, Michael's work has been treasured by many including former Presidents and dozens of other prominent and famous individuals. In 1975, Michael began working on the masterpiece that will forever leave his mark as one of the most talented and proficient American artists of all time. Park City, a 30 foot by 10 foot miniature town depicting life at the turn of the 19th century, was completed in 1986 and presented to former President Gerald Ford at a gala event in Denver that attracted thousands of collectors from all over the country. A limited-edition Ricker-collection sculpture typically sold for hundreds or thousands of dollars. Rickers 1999 sculpture of former Denver Broncos star John Elway, initially $900, escalated in value to more than $1,800 in the collectors market. Ricker opened his Estes Park museum and gallery in 1993. At the apex of his career, Michael Ricker Pewter consisted of more than two dozen galleries and distributorships throughout the U.S., earning about $9 million annually. In recent years, Rickers business faltered. He lost the Estes Park gallery to a $500,000 foreclosure in November 2004. In October 2005, living in a rented Fort Collins home, he filed for personal bankruptcy. He passed away of a brain aneurism on Jan. 7 2006.

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