1) as a collector's item
2) as toys for children (or adults :o)
3) for painting and building dioramas
4) as a souvenir
5) of nostalgic reasons.

The content of this page applies to the first motive. Everywhere prices for old original toys from the 1950's and 1960's are rising and Reisler figures is no exception. All collectors want as much value for their investment as possible and obviously originality, condition and rarity matters. Here are some issues especially related to the hobby of collecting old Reisler figures:
 

Hard / soft plastic.
In 1962 the material of which the figures were produced began to change from hard to soft plastic and the painting was simplified. (A few  figures were introduced after this event and can only be found in soft plastic). Collectors normally divide Reisler figures into two groups:

1) The stiff figures which are popular among collectors and can be rather valuable. Some are found unpainted, especially animals. Some of those once came free with boxes of soap. Others were released unpainted for competitive reasons.

2) The soft ones which more apply to motives 2 to 5 above. Many are still available today, unpainted and mainly distributed by US dealers via the internet for painting and diorama building purposes. In Denmark painted, soft plastic Reisler figures can still be found in toy shops and at a few museums.

The best chance of finding old Reisler figures these days is via internet auctions. Unfortunately picture quality is generally poor and item description likewise. So it can be very hard to distinguish between old originals and the much more common figures of later production. I hope these pictures can be used to make identification easier: