Figure of the month: 1,388

In certain professions, it is customary to honour longtime employees with a golden award when they reach a certain age or status. Countless American crime films and TV shows have acquainted us with the golden wristwatch presented to long-serving cops and detectives upon retiring from active duty. While the gold plating is conveys the appreciation for the officers’ service, the watch is of predominantly idealistic value.

From honorary Oscar to honorary Lego brick

The annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles traditionally award an honorary Oscar to filmmakers who have made valuable contributions to Hollywood over the decades but have always – and often narrowly – missed out on an award. The material value of an Oscar is around €1,000, well above that of a golden US police watch. It is, however, well below the current material value of a golden Lego brick, bestowed upon selected employees of the German Lego factory in Hohenwestedt between 1979 and 1981 to celebrate their 25th anniversary of service. Today, Lego, a Danish abbreviation for ‘play well’ – the company was founded in Denmark in 1932 – is one of the world’s three largest toy manufacturers.

From €307 in 1980 to €1,388 today

While the gold Lego brick had a material value of €307 at the end of 1979, today it is worth €1,388, which seems like a good investment. However, the commercial value of the golden Lego bricks is significantly higher: at an auction on the online platform Catawiki, one of the Lego bricks, crafted from solid 14-carat gold, sold for just under €20,000. On the German TV show ‘Bares für Rares’ (similar to the US Antiques Roadshow), a gold Lego brick was recently estimated at just €17,000 due to the fact that the sellers did not have the original documents for the brick.