What was your First Clinky?

We all came around to our china addiction somehow. So, what was your First Clinky? This may or may not have been your very first china, and may not have even been a horse. In other words, what was the clinky piece that got you started on your clinky obsession? What's the story of how you acquired it? Do you still collect pieces by that manufacturer? I'd love to hear your "origin stories"!

For me, it was this whimsical, cartoonish pinto pony made by Goebel, probably prior to 1950. This would have been around a year or two after I graduated from college. I had been watching him at a local flea market for weeks. The seller had him marked at $25 but eventually offered him to me for $12 since I had been eyeballing him so long. I gratefully accepted, and took him home.

Prior to purchasing the Goebel pony, I was exclusively an OF Plastic (overwhelmingly Breyer) collector. I'd owned some Made in Japan horses found at flea markets previously - but they didn't really intrigue me like the Goebel pony did. I loved his weighty quality, his sculpted coat, and the glossy, richly colored glaze. I scoured the the internet for information about Goebel and was thrilled to find that he was an early, fairly rare piece. During my research, I also started down the rabbit hole of checking out all the china companies that had featured pages on the Model Horse Gallery - and the rest is history!

While this pony is no longer the type of clinky I collect nowadays, I will never sell him because he of course holds great sentimental value as The One that got me hooked on clink. Thank you, little guy!