Precious Moments figurines now worth precious little

Last week, WalletPOP looked at the tanking market for Hummel figurines. But there's at least one brand of kitschy, once-collectible figurines that has fared even worse: Precious Moments.

Enesco, a once-leading giftware company, began selling the figurines in the late 1970s, based on the drawings of Sam Butcher, who had been marketing a line of Precious Moments cards and posters for several years. The figurines caught fire because of their inspirational messages and Christian themes, and a hot secondary market quickly developed, with retired early figurines routinely selling for several times their original prices.

Now, thanks to rampant over-supply on the Internet, changing tastes, and the recession, the market has tanked.