A rare Lego piece found at a Goodwill store sold for nearly $20,000 in an online auction.
The Bionicle Golden Kanohi Hau mask, manufactured in 2001, was found by employees at a branch of the nonprofit warehouse in DuBois, Pennsylvania.
The 14-karat gold Lego mask weighed 26.14 grams and was one of 30 pieces of its kind made at the time.
The mask was listed at Shop Goodwill with a base price of just $14.95, but following its discovery, the rare item was previously bid for a whopping $33,000.
The Bionicle Golden Kanohi Hau mask, manufactured in 2001, was found by employees at a branch of the nonprofit warehouse in DuBois, Pennsylvania
The 14-karat gold Lego mask weighed 26.14 grams and was one of 30 pieces of its kind made at the time
The mask was listed at Shop Goodwill with a base price of just $14.95, but following its discovery, the rare item was previously bid for a whopping $33,000
Chad Smith, Goodwill's vice president of e-commerce and technology, told WTAJ, “There are 30 of the gold ones.” Some are made of silver and some are made of platinum.
“We talked about it all week. I really haven't even had a chance to think about it, but it's pretty amazing.
“It just goes to show you never know what you’re going to find on shopgoodwill.com.”
Some of the 30 pieces were given away to LEGO employees and the rest were awarded through a competition in 2001.
The mask is part of Lego's Bionicle collection and, according to the toymaker, since 2001 the collection has “inspired a wide range of interconnected media, including books, films, television series, comics, video games and other licensed products.” and the line's original end in 2010.
Some of the 30 pieces were given away to LEGO employees and the rest were awarded through a competition in 2001
The mask is part of Lego's Bionicle collection and, according to the toymaker, since 2001 the collection has “inspired a wide range of interconnected media, including books, films, television series, comics, video games and other licensed products.” and the line's original end in 2010
But despite its popularity, the mask went unrecognized by workers at the Goodwill store
Jessica Illuzzi, social media and public relations coordinator for Goodwill Industries of North Central Pennsylvania, said, “We didn't know what we had when we found it.” It came from the State College store in a box full of random trinkets . So it had already been done there through donations'
“The BIONICLE series was a combination of the words “biological chronicle” and featured characters that represented a combination of mechanical and organic elements. “The line proved to be a cultural phenomenon, enriched by a long-standing story about the Matoran universe that went far beyond the toys themselves,” as described by LEGO.
But despite its popularity, the mask went unrecognized by workers at the Goodwill store.
Jessica Illuzzi, social media and public relations coordinator for Goodwill Industries of North Central Pennsylvania, said, “We didn't know what we had when we found it.” It came from the State College store in a box full of random trinkets . So it had already been done there through donations.
“I think it's really cool that there are so few of them, but it's also kind of cool to find out what research is behind it.” And then the final step is finding the right collector to actually get their hands on it takes.”
This discovery comes two months after a Virginia woman unknowingly found one of Italy's rarest works of art while randomly purchasing vases at her local Goodwill.
Jessica Vincent, 43, was browsing her local Goodwill when a 13-inch Murano glass vase covered in burgundy and green brushstrokes caught her eye.
She suspected it was special and bought it for $3.99.
Jessica Vincent, 43, was browsing her local Goodwill when she found a 13-inch Murano glass vase covered in burgundy and green brushstrokes and purchased it for $3.99
At the auction on December 13, the selling price for the piece was estimated at $30,000 to $50,000, but the asking price was $107,100
“It was so unusual. It had such quality. “I knew it was a good piece of glass with the mark on the bottom,” she said. “I knew it would come home with me.”
After a little research when she got home, Vincent was shocked to learn that the piece was a 1940s design by the influential Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa, part of the Pennellate series he designed for Venini , a centuries-old glass workshop on the island of Murano.
To learn more, Murano uploaded a picture of the vase to a Facebook group and was even more thrilled by the response.
Members rushed to help her identify the rare item – some even offered money to purchase it.
One member even offered her $10,000 for the vase, but she declined; others suggested contacting Wright's Auction House in New York.
At auction on December 13, the piece was estimated to be worth between $30,000 and $50,000, but instead sold for $107,100.
In July 2023, a Kentucky man struck gold after discovering over 700 rare gold dollars buried on his farm in the so-called “Great Kentucky Hoard.”
One of the coins in the collection – a $20 gold Liberty from 1863 – is pictured. At auction, the piece usually fetches a six-figure amount
The unknown man filmed himself digging up the loot – all minted between 1840 and 1863 – and exclaimed: “This is the craziest thing ever.” Pictured: the entire collection
The unknown person filmed himself digging up the loot – all minted between 1840 and 1863 – and exclaimed: “This is the craziest thing ever.”
One of the discovered coins – a $20 gold Liberty from 1863 – could fetch up to six figures at auction, experts at GovMint said. The collection includes 18 of the extremely rare pieces.
That means if each of them has at least $100,000, the owner could be looking at a $1.8 million payday. And that doesn't take into account the hundreds of other rare coins in the collection.
Archaeologists speculate that the “treasure” belonged to wealthy Kentuckians in the 1860s who were known to have buried huge sums of money to protect it from a Confederate raid during the American Civil War.
The coins were verified by Numismatic Guaranty Co. (NGC), which rated them as “extremely good to mint condition.”
It's unclear where exactly the land is, but according to Live Science, it's believed to belong to the man who dug it up.
Experts estimated that 95 percent of the treasure consists of gold dollars – including $1 gold Indians, $10 gold Liberties and $20 gold Liberties.
The coins are believed to be linked to the Civil War, when many people hoarded their money due to the rise of outlaws, bootleggers and gangsters.
Currently, the identity of the person who purchased the Bionicle Golden Kanohi Hau mask is unknown.