APPRAISER: What do you think it is?

GUEST: Um, it looks like a doll mounted on an... (laughing) on an acorn.

APPRAISER: Well, let me tell you, the name of this game is you tell me what you know about it, and I'll tell you.

GUEST: Well, actually, I don't know too much about it, um... I just happened to come across it one day while cleaning.

We were getting ready to move.

It was in a closet.

I'm assuming it came from, um, my aunt, who is a collector of many things.

She must have bought it at a garage sale or an estate sale of some sort.

But other than that, I don't know anything about it.

APPRAISER: So it magically appeared one day when you were cleaning house.

GUEST: Right.

APPRAISER: It's what we call a candy container um... Because on the back here you'll see this little snowball which actually is a little cardboard box that could be filled with candy or a little present or a little prize and then this could be used as like a party favor or as a little gift box.

Often it was candy that was put in there so generically we call these kinds of containers candy containers.

This is a particularly nice one because it's basically built around a bisque-headed doll and it's probably a Heubach doll, which is a German doll maker.

They made dolls like this-- usually dressed in white suits--that they called "snow babies" and they were favors for holiday parties or like this, with a string attached could be hung from a Christmas tree with a little gift in it.

What makes this one a little extra special is it's a snow baby, but he's dressed in a Santa Claus suit.

He's a child-- baby-- dressed as Santa Claus with his little container, and ’m not sure whether this pine cone is really original to the piece or not but it makes a wonderful place for him to sit to hang on the Christmas tree with a little present in his... in the snowball on his back.

It's really just exquisite.

I've never seen anything exactly like this.

That's one of the real joys of candy containers is they made such a proliferation, such a variety of them that, you know, you're always finding new ones.

This one had some damage at some point on its feet, and somebody touched him up but that's really minor as to the value of it.

The detail is exquisite.

The condition is phenomenal for a piece of this age and this delicacy.

It dates from ’d say 1900, 1920-- in that period.

It's always fun to find out some history about something like this.

It's very hard to put a value on these things because a lot of them are virtually one of a kind almost.

I would have to guess.

I would say somewhere in the range of $1,200 to $1,500 would be the retail value.

GUEST: It was a nice find.

APPRAISER: Yes, I think it was a nice find to find in the closet and take home.

You have a real treasure there and you want to keep it under that glass dome you brought it in because it... As I say it's exquisite, and a real gem.