Lego collectors can be pretty passionate, especially when it comes to rare finds. So perhaps it shouldn’t be particularly shocking that a one-inch-tall piece of Lego recently sold at auction for $18,101 USD.
In what is believed to be a record for a single Lego piece, Goodwill auctioned a 14-karat gold Kanohi Hau mask that turned up at a Du Bois, Pennsylvania, location in February in a bag containing various jewelry items. It wasn’t just any piece of Lego, though. According to a Goodwill executive, it was one of just 30 Kanohi Hau masks given away in 2001 (25 in a contest, 5 internally to Lego employees), coinciding with the release of Lego’s Bionicle action figure line. According to Bionicle lore, the Kanohi masks gave the wearer special powers, perhaps none more so than the golden Kanohi Hau mask, known as the "Mask of Shielding."
The item was originally listed on Goodwill’s online e-commerce platform, ShopGoodwill, for $14.95 but soon became the focus of intense interest and numerous private offers. Goodwill ultimately put the item up for auction, where it sold after 48 bids to a buyer wishing to remain anonymous. The runner-up bid was just a dollar short: $18,100. All proceeds from the auction went back to supporting Goodwill's mission.
Lego lore:
- In 2020, a solid gold Lego brick sold for $15,000. According to media reports, it was originally given to an employee in the 1980s in recognition of 25 years of service.
- The Bionicle storyline takes place in the Matoran universe, beginning on the island of Mata Nui. The first “bio-mechanical” characters introduced were the powerful Toa, each of whom had an elemental power, as well as supplemental powers that could be unleashed when wearing a Kanohi mask.
- Bionicles were originally produced by Lego from 2001 to 2010, though they were briefly brought back in 2015. By creating an original storyline across toys, games, movies, comic books, and online content, the Bionicle franchise was a significant departure from previous Lego themes. The Bionicle toys featured ball-and-socket joints that allowed free movement. They became a best-seller for Lego during the 2000s and helped revive the company's financial success.
