More LEGO Sets

Continuing from the previous article, The Best LEGO Investments (Pt. 3), we are covering the best LEGO set investments over the years.

Harry Potter

The Harry Potter theme made its debut in 2001 with the premiere of the first film, Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone. To this day Harry Potter remains one of the most popular LEGO themes and produces excellent sets year round for all ages.

From the Harry Potter theme, one standout investment is the 65524 Motorised Hogwarts Express Super Pack. Released in 2004, this 724 piece set originally retailed for $59.99. Now retired, it has climbed in value to around $1,400, representing an impressive +2,233% growth since its release. This is a very unique set as it also includes the now very much sought after 9V electric train track and controller. LEGO has since stopped production of this type of train running system, making it a rare item for most LEGO train enthusiasts.

Ideas

LEGO Ideas was a program born out of the LEGO Cuusoo program which started in 2008. This program allowed for fan submitted LEGO set ideas to be turned into actual sets. The Ideas program's 3rd set gave us the very first Minecraft Micro World set in 2012. Since then the LEGO Ideas program has become a popular place for fans to submit ideas and eventually get sets made based on the community's interest. In order for a set to be considered it must accumulate at least 10,000 votes to be reviewed by LEGO. Since then many of the earlier sets have become collectable given the low quantities produced.

The 21100 Shinkai 6500 Submarine, the very first Ideas set, was an exceptional investment in 2010. This 412 piece set was highly limited, with only 10,000 sets ever being produced. Originally retailing for $49.99, the now retired set has climbed in value to approximately $1,170 representing a remarkable +2,240% increase since it's retirement.

Technic

The Technic theme is one of the oldest themes dating back to the early 1980s. This theme is characterized by its unconventional looking pieces consisting of gears, beams, pins, connectors and axels. These pieces are used to build mechanical structures, often timeless transportation vehicles like cars, trucks, planes and construction equipment.

The 8859 Tractor stands out as a remarkable investment. Released in 1981, this 610 piece originally retailed for $39.99. Now retired, the set has soared in value to around $1,650 representing +4,025% growth since its release.

Bionical

The Bionical theme ran from 2001 to 2016, it was a subset of the TECHNIC theme consisting of large buildables and customizable figurines created out of modified technic pieces. Another incredible LEGO investment comes from the late 2000s. The 8998 Toa Mata Nui, released in 2009 as part of the Bionicle: Warriors subtheme, originally retailed for $49.99 and included 366 pieces. Now retired, this set currently sells for around $2,200, representing an astonishing +4,300% increase.

Star Wars

Although we've already discussed Star Wars, it remains one of LEGO's strongest and most iconic themes. With so many highly collectible sets released over the years, it's impossible not to mention at least one more.

One of the greatest LEGO Star Wars investments also comes from the early 2000s. The 10026 Special Edition Naboo Starfighter, a 187 piece set from 2002 retailing at $39.99 currently goes for around $2500, that is a +6000% gain. This set is special as it comes with rare chrome colored pieces to give this starship a sleek and unique look.

Architecture

LEGO Architecture theme was first introduced in 2008 with sets based on iconic buildings and landmarks from around the world. Their most popular line of products however was probably the skyline sub-them fo sets. These sets were characterized by being some of the most famous buildings in the skyline of each respective famous city.

The 487 piece, 21038 Las Vegas is a highly unique and coveted set from the LEGO Architecture / Skylines series, originally planned for release in 2018 the set was recalled after the tragic mass shooting that took place in Las Vegas in the same year. Only 24 of these sets were allegedly sold in South Africa making it one of the most exclusive sets to exist. A redesigned set was released later that year in 21047 Las Vegas. Originally priced at $39.99, set 21038 has gone up in estimated value to $3,250, a shocking +8,025%.

Pirates

One of LEGO's most popular themes, Pirates has become one the companies most iconic themes. Running from 1989 to 2015 the pirates theme includes three different factions of characters that the sets revolve around, the Imperial Guards/Armada, the Pirates, and the Islander. The sets in this theme consisted of ships, forts and islands making it one of the coolest themes to date.

The 1696 Pirate Lookout is a small but iconic set from the classic LEGO Pirates theme, released in 1992. Originally retailing for just $1.99, and only at 17 pieces and 1 minifig, the set's value has soared over the years to around $170, representing an incredible +8,400% growth.

DUPLO

DUPLO, derived from the Latin word for double, was created in 1969 for children between the ages of 1 - 5. The LEGO pieces for DUPLO sets were “double” the length and height of the standard LEGO bricks. Though these pieces were bigger they were also designed to still work consistently with the standard LEGO bricks.

Even some of these sets have been known to be great investments. For example the set 085 Racer, a simple four piece race car released in 1977 for only $1.10, is currently valued at $177, which is almost a +15,990% gain!

Classic Castle

The Classic Castle theme is one of LEGO's original themes from 1978, this theme has had sets added to it regularly with the most recent one being the 10305 Lion Knights' Castle added in 2022. With this set soon to be retired we suspect it will be going up in value substantially in the next few years.

As far as the highest performing set in the theme, that award goes to set 1695 Treasure Chestfrom 1992. Simply a knight and a cart with a treasure chest, this set originally retailed for $1.99, it is currently selling for as high as $490. That is an absurd +24,525% increase in value!

Classic Space

The Classic Space LEGO theme ran from 1978 - 2015, this theme was probably a reaction to the space obsession following the release of the very first Star Wars movie one year prior. Although most of the space sets came out before the turn of the millennium this theme still has several incredible collectors items among it.

The best investment believe it or not is the tiny 6711 Minifig Pack retailing at a measly $4.49. Released in 1983, his set included just 24 pieces and was just four minifigures. Currently the set is worth around $1,730 which is an insane 38,404%.

Although we've only scratched the surface of LEGO investing, in the next and last articles, we will be covering one more topic Minfigures Investing.