"Rosebud is the trade name of a cheap little sled on which Kane was playing on the day he was taken away from his home and his mother. In his subconscious it represented the simplicity, the comfort, above all the lack of responsibility in his home, and also it stood for his mother's love, which Kane never lost."

What does the sled symbolize in Citizen Kane?

A common interpretation of “Rosebud” (which we learn at the end of the film is the sled that Kane was playing with when he was taken away from his home as a child) is that the sled symbolizes Kane's regret for the family values and simple happinesses that he left behind on his path to greatness.

Where is the Rosebud sled?

The sled had been owned by John Hall, RKO's chief archivist, who had bought it from a studio watchman. The watchman had found it in a trash heap outside the prop vault in the old RKO studios in Hollywood.