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Home & Lifestyle
Rare LEGO collection grows in value
Alice Piper
June 20, 2022
LEGO has always held a special place in the hearts of enthusiasts. However, as the collectable giant turns 90 years old, LEGO sets are growing in value and interest, with one Victorian LEGO enthusiast sharing his prized collection.
LEGO blocks have been around since as far back as 1932, when founder Ole Kirk Christiansen began making wooden toys in his workshop in Billund, Denmark. It was two years after that when he named his company LEGO after the Danish phrase 'leg godt', which translates to 'play well'.
Since then, LEGO has become part of the fabric of childhood, with boys and girls all over the world building all sorts of creations, from houses and cars to more intricate collectable items like those from popular film series such as Star Wars and Harry Potter.
Love for LEGO has not slowed down in the 90 years since it was invented. More than one million Australians tuned into the finale of TV series LEGO Masters (which won the Best Presenter and Best Program categories at the 2022 Logie Awards), which can be credited to not only growing the passion for LEGO in its traditional fan base but igniting a love for LEGO in people who have never collected before.
One such collector is Aaron, who started amassing LEGO sets as a child, and never envisaged his collection would grow to be so rare or be worth so much.
Aaron’s fascination with LEGO started as a 10-year-old boy, when he used his birthday money to buy his first LEGO technic set, which unbeknownst to him at the time would spur his passion for collecting.
“I still remember walking out of Big W with this big box in my hand being the proudest child,” Aaron says. “I’ve still got that piece today.”
Watch Aaron show off his increasingly valuable LEGO collection.
Since that memorable birthday, Aaron’s LEGO collection now incorporates some of the rarest and most valuable LEGO items ever produced.
“The rarest item in my LEGO collection would have to be my Superman,” he says. “It’s AFA graded from the San Diego Comic-Con and there were only 1200 of those produced.”
“However, if I lost my Imperial Shuttle that would probably be the most devastating thing for me,” says Aaron. “Being a huge Star Wars fan, that’s the one ship I associate with [the film].”
The value of rare LEGO is growing
Research shows that investing in rare LEGO may be more lucrative than gold, art, and wine. In fact, the value of vintage Lego sets, especially retired sets, can rise in value by more than 10 per cent annually.
This is good news for Aaron, who has quite a substantial collection of retired LEGO sets.
“My favourite thing in the LEGO collection has to be the orange Porsche,” he says. “It’s retired now, so is a lot more collectable, and I’ve got a fair few of them.”
“People actually do a mock creation where they sell the instructions online,” adds Aaron. “People have made so many variations of this car that I’ve just had to collect them all.”
Unsurprisingly, the value of any LEGO collection depends on the condition it’s in. According to Aaron, even one faded brick can depreciate the entire set.
“It’s really important to have UV lights protecting the LEGO, because as soon as the sun hits a white brick for example, it will start to fade,” he says. “This will seriously devalue the set.”
Aaron's LEGO collection includes items famous carmakers such as Ferrari and Porsche
The LEGO fun never stops
Aaron’s passion for LEGO collectables is so strong, he says his collection “will never be complete”.
“They will always be bringing out new sets I want to get, and I’ll start finding more mocks that I just have to build.”
With dedicated LEGO-branded stores all over Melbourne, and the emergence of smaller shops stocking rare and hard-to-find LEGO sets, such as Brickville in the suburb of Kensington, Aaron and other LEGO enthusiasts can get their brick fix more easily.
But what is Aaron’s advice for anyone wanting to start their own LEGO collection?
“Just pick a theme and run with it.”
Fawkes, Dumbledore's Phoenix from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, in LEGO form.
