The beloved Danish toy brand, LEGO, has quite the following. You may think that LEGOs are for kids, but they’re quite for people of all ages. These bricks have such a wide appeal that they have spawned movies, cartoons, video games, and so much more. LEGO-themed amusement parks also exist in different parts of the world! Thus, it’s no surprise that some of the most expensive LEGO sets can command quite a following.
Perhaps most importantly for this list, LEGOs have also inspired their share of collectors. LEGOs, as many a toy fan knows by experience, don’t come cheap. It’s not uncommon for sets to go into the hundreds of dollars brand new. What more for the ultra-rare limited edition sets? This is what this list is about. Here are 20 of the most expensive LEGO sets of all time. These numbers are based on various sources, including the LEGO economy site BrickEconomy. You may be surprised to see which ones are on this list!
LEGO Molding Machines – $10,000+
You may not have expected that LEGO versions of molding machines would be worth so much. After all, they’re just molding machines, right? How are they any special?
It turns out that their value is not due to their design. It’s not even due to their complexity. Instead, they get their value from their rarity. LEGO gave them away for free as part of the LEGO Design Tour in 2011. The company only produced 68 of them, which made them among the rarest LEGO sets ever.
Value estimates for the sets vary depending on the state of each individual set. A signed set sold for $10,000 at an eBay auction. That’s right! A staggering $10,000 for a LEGO set! Opened sets may be somewhat less valuable. However, given the set’s rarity and how it rarely appears at auction sites, these sets are still worth a fortune! Not bad for a gift, right?
Statue of Liberty – $8,000+
Some claim that at the time of its release, this had the most number of pieces of any LEGO set ever. This set has around 3,000 pieces. That’s right! Astoundingly 3,000 pieces! That’s a lot of LEGO pieces that owners could easily misplace! Unsurprisingly, such a complicated set has become a collector’s item.
The set itself was already expensive when it was first released. Today, the set could cost quite a lot depending on its condition. According to BrickEconomy, an opened set could cost just under $800. However, unopened sets could cost over $3,000. In fact, the site estimates that unopened sets in the best condition could cost as much as $8,000. And unlike the previous entry on this list, stores actually sold it.
H.C. Andersen’s Clumsy Hans – $7,000+
You probably didn’t expect that such a “clumsy” LEGO set would have cost a fortune, but you’re wrong. Similar to the aforementioned Molding Machines set, this LEGO set was a limited edition giveaway. LEGO only produced 80 sets, which were sent to members of the LEGO Ambassador program. It’s rare for any set to go on sale. When a set does go on the market, prices start at over $2,000. Someone even bought one set that was on sale for $7,000! You can buy cheap or second-hand cars for that price.