The item arrived in February 2024, tucked inside an old LEGO box mixed with donated jewelry. Staff at the Du Bois, Pennsylvania, Goodwill store listed it for $14.95 without realizing they were holding a 14-karat gold Kanohi Hau mask from the discontinued Bionicle line. Only 30 of these specific pieces existed when LEGO produced them in 2001.
Interest spiked when bidders started offering $1,000 for the trinket. Goodwill’s VP of e-commerce, Chad Smith, recalled staying up all night monitoring the second auction after a previous $33,000 bid fell through due to payment issues. The tension was palpable as 48 bids flew in on ShopGoodwill.com.
The final hammer price landed at $18,101, just $1 ahead of the second-highest bid. The mask’s value stems from its rarity; Smithsonian Magazine notes that 25 were given away and five kept by employees. This particular piece had never been for sale in regular stores.
For collectors, the Bionicle line was a cult following rather than a mainstream hit. Launched in 2001, the series featured action-figure-style toys with ball-and-socket joints and a complex mythology centered on the island of Mata Nui. The golden Kanohi Hau, associated with protection, remained a holy grail for enthusiasts who missed the initial release.