Many will say the most iconic Lego piece has to be the simple eight-studded brick, but what about the Lego minifigures? These 1.5-inch plastic characters might not be considered a single ‘part’, but they’re something of a figurehead for the brand, and a handful court very high collector prices. And we mean really, really, absurdly high.
Which are the rarest Lego minifigures, the most expensive or most desirable? You can find out right below. First, though, a quick disclaimer. While we’ve done our best to provide accurate figures, these prices can fluctuate widely. Different sources give different values, and there can be wild distinctions between the prices items are listed at, and the reality of what people are willing to pay.
If you need a suitable home for your bank-breaking minifigures, they’ll find plenty of space in the biggest Lego sets ever released. Or maybe they’ll feel more suitably served in some of the world’s most expensive Lego sets. Already spent your life savings on a Lego for adults, or Star Wars Lego sets? You might find something more suitable (and less wallet breaking) in our guide to 2023’s best new Lego sets or the best Lego sets of all time.
These are the rarest Lego minifigures ever made:
- Lego Solid Gold 14k C-3PO – $100,000
- Lego Kanan Jarrus ‘Black Hair and Eyebrows’ version – $230
- Lego Mr Gold – $4000
- Lego Experience Tour Staff – $700
- Lego Barb (Comic-Con 2019 Exclusive) – $500 – $1,000
- Lego Ninjago Movie Wooden Wu Movie Prop – $104,500
- Lego Boba Fett (Cloud City variant) – $1,700
- Lego NASA Jupiter Mission minifigures – $2,000,000,000?
Lego Solid Gold 14k C-3PO – $100,000
There have been a lot of Lego C-3POs over the years, including some carefully limited ones with various metallic finishes. But the real solid gold 14 karat minifigure based on Star Wars’ flustered intellectual droid? Only five were cast, to be used as prizes for a 2007 (some sources say early-2008) Lego Star Wars 30th anniversary competition.
They sell very rarely, which makes a valuation tricky. One example was sold privately for $100,000 many years ago, and currently an eBay seller is seeking $200,000 for their copy. In recent years, one of the five was offered for $300,000, but appeared not to sell, so we’ll resist counting that. Whatever the precise value, your bank manager says this is not the droid you’re looking for.
Lego Kanan Jarrus ‘Black Hair and Eyebrows’ version – $230
Next we’ll stay with George Lucas’ world, but move to something rather more affordable – and no less interesting. In early editions of Lego’s take on The Ghost starship from the Star Wars: Rebels animated TV series (set 75053), there was a variant of the Kanan Jarrus minifigure with black facial hair printed on the head, and a black hairpiece part to clip on top. Later versions switched the facial hair for brown, but kept the black hairpiece part, which has since been included in a number of other Lego sets.
But that head with the black facial hair? The minifigure with that piece can go for upwards of $230. And there’s no denying it; you’re really paying for the scarce head here. The other elements are much more common.
Lego Mr Gold – $4,000
It’s time to move away from rare Lego Star Wars minifigures and look at what must surely be the most iconic figure to come out of the Lego Minifigures ‘mystery bag’ series. Back in 2013, a limited number of Mr Gold figures were placed in Series 10 bags. 5,000 were made, and today you can expect to pay $3,000 to $4,000 for one; the higher end should get you mint.
Some of these, however, presumably ended up in the hands of unknowingly lucky youngsters. That does mean that today you can pick up a played-with version sporting a bit of wear and the odd crack for a mere $1,000.
The Lego Experience Tour Staff – $700
Unsurprisingly, the rarest Lego minifigures are often those not publicly released. Take The Lego Experience Tour Staff minifigure. For the origins of this one, the clue’s in the name. It was distributed to Lego Group employees involved in The Lego Experience Tour.
As for what that was, it’s not entirely clear, but our research suggests it was a fair, featuring lots of Lego competitions and activities, that ran around 2009. This Lego minifigure, resplendent in Lego staff uniform, is incredibly hard to track down, but previously has been offered for around $700.
Lego Barb – $500 – $1,000
Nancy Wheeler’s unfortunate friend Barbara “Barb” Holland had a bit of a tough time in Stranger Things series one. Popular with fans of the show, her Lego minifigure was given out exclusively at the Comic Con gathering in San Diego in 2019, and has become particularly collectible.
That tends to be the case with so many Comic Con exclusive minifigures, but for whatever reason Barb has pushed ahead of many others, selling for between $500 and $1,000.
Lego Ninjago Movie Wooden Wu Movie Prop – $104,500
Moving away from the publicly available to the ridiculously exclusive, the Lego Ninjago Movie might not rival the popularity of the toy maker’s mainline films, but it sure spawned a pricey minifigure. As revealed by Lego Senior Creative Director Simon Lucas, just four real wooden Wu minifigures were made as props for the 2017 film starring Jackie Chan. Exactly who one of the quartet sold to for $104,500 is a bit of a mystery, but various sources suggest this is very much the real price.
Lego Boba Fett (Cloud City variant) – $1,700
Back to the best Lego Star Wars minifigures again, with a very pricey set of limbs. In 2003, Lego set 10123 Cloud City presented an interior diorama from the floating gas mining colony, forever associated with the name Lando Calrissian. It was apparently a bit of a flop, ultimately selling in less than stellar numbers.
But it came with a Boba Fett variant with extra detail printed on his arms and legs, making it a cut above other Lego interpretations of that inexplicably charismatic bounty hunter. In combination with the fact it came in but one costly set that faded into obscurity, that makes it very desirable. The last example sold for $1,700.
Lego NASA Jupiter Mission minifigures – $2 billion
We’ll end our list staying up in space, and on a slightly daft one – or three. But this time we’re talking about real space. When NASA’s Juno spacecraft took off to make its way to the planet Jupiter in 2011, the space agency worked with Lego to get a trio of tiny astronauts on board. They were, of course, Lego minifigures.
Together they represented the Roman God Jupiter, Jupiter’s wife Juno, and ‘father of science’, Galileo Galilei, and have orbited Jupiter for years. The idea was to capture the imaginations of Lego-loving children, and get them thinking about science.
Adding these figures to your collection? That would mean arranging a recovery mission to Jupiter. There’s been a rumoured figure floating around online that $2 billion ought to do it. But considering NASA in 2020 announced a $28 billion budget for the new effort to land humans on the moon, suddenly $2 billion feels a little measly.