The importance of dating Ernie

[CherryPizza]

It was another of those visits to the Salvation Army shop in which my spidey sense was tingling. Among the cluttered soft toy container was a piece of fabric that could only have been part of Ernie's trademark jumper/sweater. It wasn't going to be a rare collectible that would fund a trip to Paris, but the item was worth the 50 cents it cost me:

Yes, his belly is a bit on the 'empty' side No, he's not on any crash diets; it's one of those character bags for kids to store their pyjamas. As for his face, well... I have no explanation.

Anyway, judging by the fabric/pattern used in his top, it's obviously not the most recent product made, but any tags or dates are long gone from the product. Does anyone have any idea when an Ernie toy with this image would have been made? My humble estimation would be late 70s/early 80s, but I could be way off.

 

[Cindy]

Odd. I like his dual purpose aspect but that face... that face....

I've not seen one before, my first thought was that he was a knock off. But ugly things have been licensed before. Hope someone else is more helpful.