What are Minifigures?

For as long as they have existed, you might think Barbie, G.I. Joe, or Beanie Babies are the most common figurine, but you'd be wrong. Minifigures or minifigs, the small figurines that are included in most LEGO sets are actually the most produced figurines in the world. In fact as of 2019 the LEGO minifigure population has actually surpassed that of humans, making these tiny plastic figures the dominant species of the planet!

The modern minifigure was created in 1978, a standard three piece figuring with poseable legs and hands. Prior to that non poseable legless and armless figurines were used for sets in the early 1970s. Since then the minifig have only gotten more popular and even more complex while staying true to their roots. Although a small addition to a LEGO set, minifigs have the ability to make or break a set's popularity. While we discussed investing in LEGO sets in previous articles, Title Pending, one lucrative and perhaps overlooked aspect of LEGO investing are the minifigs. But before we talk about the best investments, let's first discuss what makes minifigs so popular to collect.

What's the fuss over Minifigs?

It's a simple answer, minifigs are rare. While LEGO sets are also rare, they can be recreated relatively easily when compared to minifigs.Did you know LEGO has digital versions of the instructions of all modern LEGO sets? On LEGO.com pieces that are still in production and available can be ordered with no issue and an entire set for the most part can be recreated. Since many LEGO elements are reused on many sets, they are usually available, although in the past several unused pieces have also been retired, most of the pieces from the Bionicle theme for example.

Set Exclusives

However, minifigs, especially ones that are exclusive to a specific set, may never come back, especially if the set is long retired. A prime example of this are the minifigs from the Lone Ranger theme, those sets were retired in 2013 and have not been produced since. The set 79110 Silver Mine Shootout for example had special variants of the Lone Ranger and Tonto characters, these were set exclusives with special printing that currently go for more than the standard minifigs. Similarly the currently available LEGO Star Wars 75389 The Dark Falcon set includes 5 exclusive minifigs that are not available in any other set. Once this set retires we suspect it will undoubtedly be a good investment, based on the exclusivity of the minifigs alone.

Printing & Variants

At the start of 2025 many LEGO enthusiasts rushed to buy LEGO Star Wars set 75383 Darth Maul's Sith Infiltrator. Certain versions of this set included variants of the character Qui-Gon Jinn with a slightly lighter colored beard on the head piece. For whatever reason this minifig was selling up to $200 on after market websites, only because the beard was a different shade of brown. Similarly, another Star Wars minifig Phase 1 Clone Commander Fox from the 2008 set 7681 Separatist Spider Droid, had a misprint on the torso piece. This little mistake caused the variant minifig to have a price somewhere around $800!

Expensive Little Guys

Now that we know why certain minifigs are more valuable than others we can look at some of the best minifig investments throughout the years.

Star Wars - Ahsoka Tano

This fan favorite character introduced back in 2008 with the animated movie, Star Wars: the Clone Wars, has had many iterations of minifig however this variant seems to be the most popular. Coming from the set 75158 Rebel Combat Frigate, this minifig goes for around $340.

DC Batman - Bane

The popular villain from the Batman comic Bane, was first introduced with set 7787 The Bat-Tank The Riddler and Bane's Hideout. Since this was minifigure's debut, this minifig currently goes for around $370.

Ninjago - Lloyd DX

From the popular LEGO theme Ninjango, Lloyd, one of the main heroes from the series and a fan favorite, was included in the target exclusive 5004076 2014 Target Minifigure Gift Set. This minifig is currently worth around $560.

Star Wars - Finch Dallow

Finch Dallow is a resistance pilot from 2018's divisive Star Wars The Last Jedi. Although a very minor character in the movie, his minifig is featured in set 75188 Resistance Bomber. This minifigure goes for around $1500 as a result of being introduced very late to the production of the set, only a handful of sets included this minifig.

Star Wars - 10123 Cloud City

Going back to our famous 10123 Cloud City set from 2003, this set has at least 3 of the top best performing minifigures of all time. The Luke Skywalker minifig for example currently goes for around $400. The Lando Calrissian minifig, the first minifig to be a brown skin color and not the standard yellow, on average seems to go for around $400, although there are listings for up to $1600. The Boba Fett minifig, which was special due to the printing on the arms, from the same set currently goes for $2300.

MR Gold

Although not part of an official set, Mr. Gold is currently one of the most valuable minifig that could have been purchased at retail. This gold colored gentleman with a monocle and top hat were included in the series 10 of the minifigures series. There were 5,000 created all with unique serial numbers. Currently the minifig goes for an estimated value of $9500!

Even though there are so many aspects of LEGO investing we did not cover. It is important to note that like any other investments there are risks involved in making purchases of any kind. Collecting and investing has become popular in the last few years but what a lot of people don't realize is that unlike options, LEGO sets and minifigs are physical items that require care and attention to keep in pristine condition, and most important of all is most LEGO sets require years of patients in order to eventually turn a good profit.