Of course, there's no denying the delightful figurines are everyone’s favorite product from the company. According to information provided to WomansWorld.com by Precious Moments, it takes roughly one full year to create each new figurine from concept to distribution. The company also retires two to three of their designs every year. Once they retire a design, they literally break the hand-sculpted molds, which obviously makes the tiny figures all the more valuable to collectors.
Chances are, you may have looked at your own collection from time to time and wondered just how much those charming faces are worth today — especially if you’ve been a fan since the very beginning! Take a look below to see if you own one of the “Original 21” Precious Moments figurines, and to learn their current value.
Left to Right: Unto Us a Child Is Born, Jesus Is Born, His Burden Is Light, and Come Let Us Adore Him
First, it’s important to note that prices can vary for each figurine depending on where it’s being sold, the condition it's in, and how long it has been since they were retired from production. RetiredPreciousMoments.com has listings for all of the "Original 21" figurines and their current values, which we will share through the rest of this article.
That said, each figurine's worth, both from RetiredPreciousMoments.com and other vendors, can fluctuate in price and availability. You can also inquire about purchasing one of the originals from Precious Moments themselves at the gift shop in the Precious Moments Chapel, according to the company’s official website.
If you’ve managed to hang onto any of the figurines shown above, you could be looking at a current value ranging between $130 for “His Burden Is Light” to $375 for “Come Let Us Adore Him.” As for "Unto Us a Child Is Born" and "Jesus Is Born," those both clock in at $170. All four of these particular examples were retired in the early 1980s, not long after their original production.
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Left to Right: Love Lifted Me, Jesus Is the Answer, Prayer Changes Things, He Leadeth Me
Each of the figurines shown above are currently valued at over $100, with "Jesus Is the Answer" ranging between $100 and $175, "He Leadeth Me" at $115, and "Prayer Changes Things" at $195. Meanwhile, “Love Lifted Me” is valued at the slightly lower price of $85, likely because the product remained on store shelves a bit longer than the others.
The company shared a bittersweet story they were told about the “Prayer Changes Everything” model — but don’t worry, it has a happy ending! Apparently, a young man who was having troubles in his marriage came across the figurine while walking through a department store “with a heavy heart, thinking about his impending divorce.” Although he didn’t purchase it at the time, the image weighed on his mind.
He eventually went back to buy the figurine, leaving it on his kitchen table for his wife to see as soon as she returned home. According to the story, she was so moved by the gesture and emphasis on prayer that they both ended up crying tears of relief, determined to work on their marriage together.
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Left to Right: We Have Seen His Star, Jesus Loves Me, God Understands, Smile God Loves You
The “Jesus Loves Me” figurine was issued as two versions: one featuring a girl, as shown above, and one featuring a boy. Those were both in production until 2003, so their value ranges between $50 to $70. Although it was retired in 1984 (shortly after production began), “Smile God Loves You” is still worth a nice chunk of change at $75.
Both “God Understands” and “We Have Seen His Star” were also retired in 1984 and are valued at $115 and $135, respectively.
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Left to Right: Love One Another and God Loveth a Cheerful Giver
The figurines above are two of the most talked-about pieces Precious Moments produced as part of the "Original 21." As the first-ever model to be sculpted, “Love One Another” also remains the only figurine from that collection to still be made today. You can even purchase one from the company’s official website for about $40. According to their site, Samuel J. Butcher was inspired to make this figurine after seeing his young daughter Tammy simply sitting on a tree stump chatting with her uncle.
As for “God Loveth a Cheerful Giver,” it became the most valuable figurine from the original collection with an estimated worth of $1,300 at its height. It was also inspired by one of Butcher's daughters, Debbie, who would spend all of her spare money adopting pets from the local veterinarian’s office and finding them new homes.
One day, she asked: “Daddy, do you have any friends who need a pet? I have some kittens here that I would be glad to give away for free!” They changed the kittens to puppies for the model, but the heartwarming sentiment is still very much intact. The company also shared with us that a batch of these figurines are even more valuable to collectors as they were issues with a typo that read, “Free Puppiess,” and a lack of paint on the dogs’ eyes.
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Left to Right: Love Is Kind, O How I Love Jesus, He Careth for You, Praise the Lord Anyhow
All of the above figurines were retired between 1982 and 1988, within a decade of first hitting the market. Their value is currently ranging at $100 for “Love Is Kind” and “Praise the Lord Anyhow,” $130 for “O How I Love Jesus,” and $155 for “He Careth for You.”
Of the two figurines not listed here already (the third being the boy version of “Jesus Loves You”), a model of a little girl with her doll titled “Jesus Is the Light” is valued at $65. Another figure of a little girl face-to-beak with a goose is valued at $55. The goose design for the latter example was inspired by one of Butcher’s neighbors, who, while the pair were driving together down a country road, honked his horn at a car with a bumper sticker that read “Honk if you love Jesus.” In fact, according to the company website, that was the original name for the figurine!
If you’re wondering about a figurine in your collection that wasn’t issued as part of the "Original 21," you’ll have to do a bit of research on your own. With over 2,500 different types of models made since the company began in 1978, it would be impossible for us to list them all! Of course, regardless of how much you might be able to earn selling them, the true value of each iconic figurine lies in the joy, comfort, and love they’re able to give all on their own.