Rare LEGO Piece Mixed Into Random Donation Box Sold For Over $18,000 In Auction

LEGO history was made after a rare piece, made of gold by the Danish toy company, was sold for over $18,000 at Goodwill’s online auction house.

The 14-karat LEGO piece called the Bionicle Golden Kanohi Hau LEGO Mask sold for $18,101 and is believed to be one of only 25 to 30 pieces that exist out there.

The toy company made tons of plastic versions of these masks back in 2001, and only a few of the 14-karat gold versions. Back then, these rare gold pieces were reportedly gifted to some of the company’s employees. A few of the pieces were also handed over to employees as a reward after a contest.

One of these rare pieces found its way into a random box of donated jewelry at a Goodwill warehouse in western Pennsylvania. It is unclear who donated the rare piece.

"Originally, this was done in 2001," said Chad Smith, vice president of E-commerce and Technology for Goodwill Industries of North Central PA, according to CBS News.

"It was a giveaway, and there were 25, I believe, that were given away, and five remained for people who actually worked at LEGO. So 23 years later, one of these resurfaces, and it's really unique," he added.

The item was posted on shopgoodwill.com for just $14.95 because nobody knew at the time what people would be willing to pay for the gold piece.

“We didn’t know what we had when we found it,” Goodwill Industries of North Central Pennsylvania Social Media & PR Coordinator Jessica Illuzzi told WTAJ. “It came in a box full of random jewelry from the State College store. So it had already been processed through donations there.”

By the end of the auction, the final price for the piece was $18,101.

“The final bid was $18,101. The second-highest bid was $18,100,” Chad said.

“We’ve been talking about it all week. I really haven’t even had a chance to think about it, but it’s pretty amazing,” he added. “It just shows you never know what you’re going to find on shopgoodwill.com.”

According to brickfact.com, the highest amount paid for a LEGO piece is $15,000, making the $18,101 for the gold mask the new highest.