HOST: At the Providence Roadshow in 2005
collectibles expert Simeon Lipman encounters one of those sometimes iffy, tupperware treasures.
APPRAISER: I remember a gentleman coming over and he had his arm in a sling and he
was holding a tupperware container. And you never know when they have a
tupperware container. And when it opens up you never know what is going to be in there,
what its going to smell like. So I kind of took a step back.
HOST: But when he opened this guest's container, he was elated by what he saw inside.
APPRAISER: He opens it up and my heart skipped a beat. I'm looking
at two faces I've seen my entire life. Rudolph and Santa Clause from the beloved 1964 special.
Whenever you see something iconic like that immediately you think okay,
these probably aren't the actual puppets. But once he told his story, things got interesting.
GUEST: My aunt worked for Rankin Bask Productions for about 10 to 15 years in the '70s and early '80s and she acquired all of
them and they were the production puppets from Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer.
APPRAISER: He had a very, very good story of provenance. Especially back then,
people didn't think of these things as being collectible objects. So if somebody
wanted them after production was over, they needed space. And like with any other prop
in a production, there is usually more than one. There has to be because something can happen.
So I wasn't sure these were the only ones but I had a pretty good idea that these were real.
APPRAISER: So what we have here are the actual original puppets.
GUEST: As far as I know.
APPRAISER: When you opened the box and took these fellas out, it was like I was seeing old friends.
GUEST: Exactly.
APPRAISER As I'm sure is the case with millions of our viewers. This is a Christmas tradition.
1964 was when the film was made and it definitely has a warm spot in all of our hearts.
So to actually meet them in person is really exciting.
GUEST: Including Rudolph and Santa we probably have Cornelias, Herbie the misfit dentist,
and a few others including this sort of Reindeer that got melted in our attic thanks to my mom.
We used to have them around the Christmas tree growing up.
APPRAISER: The puppets did not fair well over time. But like a Christmas miracle
only Santa and Rudolph survived in the attic.
APPRAISER: They are not in perfect condition, the nose has been replaced,
the bulb broke, Santa's whiskers are missing there. If I were to estimate it at an auction
I wouldn't estimate it less than 8K-10K for the pair.
What it would go for at auction, that's anyones guess. About a year or so after the show aired,
George the original owner sold them to a gentleman named Kevin, who had them painstakingly resorted,
with Santa getting his whisker back and Rudolph getting a light bulb back in his nose
and they look great. Those puppets were then sold to a big time collector named Peter.
As the years went by I had a different opinion of what the value was. Now that they've been restored
and things from our childhood, the nostalgia surrounding them, certainly in this day and age,
these things have taken on tremendous value. I wouldn't be surprised if it sold for well over
100,000 dollars, maybe more. I believe they are that iconic, that important. I look at antiques,
and these pieces as time-travelers. This is part of their journey and this is part of their story.
HOST: But Rudolph and Santa's journey didn't end there. A few months later we caught up with
Simeon again to hear about the latest chapter in the life of these beloved Christmas characters.
APPRAISER: Since we last spoke during the summer we've had some exciting
news regarding our friends Rudolph and Santa. And boy what a perfect ending they had.