The Top 10 Most Expensive Retired LEGO Harry Potter Sets

13th June 2022

LEGO Harry Potter has been with us now for over 20 years, and in that time, over 130 sets have been produced. We’ve been treated to a wide range of locations, scenes, and characters from Hogwarts Castle and its grounds, as well as places from the wider wizarding world, such as the Burrow, Hogsmeade, and Diagon Alley to name but a few. Such is the abundance of Harry Potter sets, that many locations and scenes have gone through multiple versions, and there are only a few settings from the books and film franchise that are yet to make their way into brick form.

If you are young enough, or new enough to LEGO, that you weren’t on the scene in 2001 when the Harry Potter theme came into being, then it’s likely there are many sets missing from your collection. Due to the age of some sets, and the everlasting popularity of the boy wizard, it’s no surprise that you’ll need to take out a small loan at Gringotts to get your hands on some of them. In this article we look back at the entire back catalogue of sets from the wizarding world to find the ten most expensive. To compile this list, we looked at the average sale price on Bricklink over the past 6 months. It’s no surprise that new, unopened sets from the early days are now hard to come by or too pricey for many, so in some instances no sales of a particular set occurred on Bricklink in that time period. In these instances, we took the average asking price of the set in a new condition.

10. (4756) Shrieking Shack

Current Value £200 / $255

Dating back to 2004, this set originally retailed for £39.99 / $50.00 and was released in conjunction with the third film, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Those familiar with the books will know that the Shrieking Shack is described as the most haunted house in Britain by Hermione, but in fact serves as a safehouse for Professor Lupin when he undergoes his monthly transformations into a werewolf. The set depicts not only the Shrieking Shack, but also a very cool Transformation Shed, and HoneyDukes Fine Confectionery Store. Whilst this set has a lot of charm, like other older Harry Potter sets, it feels a bit dated and sparse in detail. Therefore, their price is driven mainly by the minifigures they included. The Shrieking Shack had four minifigures, the most desirable being Professor Lupin, which until the recent release of 76407 The Shrieking Shack & Whomping Willow, was the only version of him in werewolf form. This particular Lupin is currently the third most expensive Harry Potter minifigure ever. The first incarnations of Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black also appeared in this set and both now cost around £20 / $25.

9. (4758) Hogwarts Express (2nd Edition)

Current Value £230 / $290

In total, there have been four different versions of the famous red steam train. The second edition, which was released in 2004, changed little from the first Hogwarts Express, retaining the classic look that many prefer to the most recent incarnation. A small station is also included in the set, along with four minifigures. The two most desirable are the first version of the dementor, which makes use of sand green parts and looks markedly different to later imaginings, and a human-form Lupin. None of the minifigures are exclusive, otherwise this set would have been much further up this list.

8. (4768-1) Durmstrang Ship

Current Value £235 / $295

LEGO has only ever produced the Durmstrang Ship once in brick form, which is not surprising as it plays a minor role in the books and films. Fans will remember it being the means of travel for wizards from the Durmstrang Institute getting to the Triwizard Tournament in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Because this is the only Durmstrang Ship, this is in large part the reason for it making the top ten list.

The most famous student from Durmstrangs is of course Viktor Krum, and we suitably get a minifigure version of him. His only other companion aboard the vessel is former Death Eater, and now headteacher, Professor Igor Karkaroff. For a set of this size, the minifigure count is fairly measly, and they are identical except for the headpiece. Both minifigures can be considered to be exclusive, although technically they aren’t, as they appear in a rarer and slightly different version of this set, which places two positions higher up this list.

7. (4766) Graveyard Duel

Current Value £275 / $345

Yet another set from the early days finds its way onto the list. Like 4768, the Graveyard Duel was released in 2005 in tandem with the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire film. The set is one of the best performing sets, in terms of its current price relative to its RRP, as it now sells for over 9 times the original price tag of £29.99. This is nearly 11 times if you bought this set in the US, due to the similar RRP in the dollars. This huge positive price action is mainly due to the set’s eight minifigures. This includes an assortment of skeletons, Harry, the second version of Peter Pettigrew, Lucius Malfoy in Death Eater costume, and the first ever Lord Voldemort. The latter two are now both amongst the 10 most valuable Harry Potter minifigures.

6. (4768-2) The Durmstrang Ship with Bonus Minifigures

Current Value £280 / $350

This set is identical to the regular set (4768-1), which sits 8th on this list, except that it included four bonus minifigures (Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Dumbledore). It was only available in the US as a Target exclusive so is considerably rarer than its counterpart. However, because the additional four minifigures were not exclusive to this set, you’ll only have to pay an extra £45 / $55 if you’re not satisfied with the regular Durmstrang Ship.

5. (4709) Hogwarts Castle (1st Edition)

Current Value £335 / $420

This version of Hogwarts Castle was among the very first Harry Potter sets to be released. It was a sizable set for the time, with 682 pieces and retailing for £79.99 / $90.00. It must have been hugely exciting at the time for LEGO fans to get a recreation of Hogwarts Castle, and although it lacks the detail of modern sets, it still packs some good playability. The early Harry Potter minifigures included the classic yellow headpieces, which look a little quicky now, given we are now so used to life-like skin tones on our minifigs. The exception is Severus Snape who has been given a gloomy, grey hue. I’m very surprised that this version of Snape can be picked up so cheaply, especially given that it has a glow-in-the-dark head, which is a major plus for any minifigure in my opinion.

4. (10217) Diagon Alley

Current Value £360 / $455

The newest set on our list by some way is the 2011 release of Diagon Alley. The set contains three fantastic looking and highly detailed buildings, including the only LEGO version of Gringotts Bank. It also boasts a hefty collection of minifigures, many of which have remained exclusive to the set. In addition, it had a ton of nice accessories and interesting bricks. It's also huge, coming in at just over 2000 pieces, and so it’s no surprise that it's high on the list. If it wasn’t for the newer version of Diagon Alley (75978) that arrived in 2020, this set could have been vying for the top spot.

3. (4767) Harry and the Hungarian Horntail

Current Value £395 / $500

Yet another small set has appreciated hugely in value and finds its way onto the top ten list. In fact, this set is the most profitable Harry Potter set ever made. For the price you need to pay now, you could have bought 13 of this set back in 2005 when it was released, or 16 of them if you were living in the US.

Until LEGO released the first series of collectible Harry Potter minifigures, this set contained the only Mad-Eye Moody minifigure in existence. While LEGO have released other sets depicting Harry’s challenge against the Hungarian Horntail, this set has by far the best version of the dragon in our opinion, and it alone now requires some serious dollar to get your hands on. It will cost you more than even the legendary LEGO goat.

Another reason for the eye-watering price of this set, is the bunch of unique parts it contains that are so desirable now for MOCs. Examples include a minifigure handheld magnet piece and the golden ball that serves as the golden egg Harry must steal from the dragon.

2. (10132) Motorised Hogwarts Express

Current Value £630 / $795

What's better than a regular Hogwarts Express? A motorised version of course. Although the regular versions of the beloved train are fine builds, one of the downsides is they lack the ability to run on LEGO tracks, unless you want to spend all day pushing them yourself. This set solved that problem and became invaluable for anyone wanting a working Hogwarts Express to add to their own Hogwarts builds. While we say invaluable, everything has its price, and this one is an astonishing £630 / $795.

1. (5378) Hogwarts Castle (3rd Edition)

Current Value £665 / $840

It's almost fitting the top spot goes to the magical school itself. This third rendition was released in 2007. Whilst the build is not perfect and contains some obvious flaws, such as the large gaps in the walls and small interior space, it did give us a generous cast of minifigures and a couple of very nice Thestrals. The characters and animals are what makes this set now worth around £665 / $840, as it contains the most expensive LEGO Harry Potter minifigure in the form of Dolores Umbridge. For a long time, this was the only minifigure of the evil pink clad witch LEGO seemed to want to give us. Professor Snape from this set is also amongst the priciest minifigures from the wizarding world, although there are better versions of him in my opinion.

Disclaimer: This article or any others on brickranker.com should not be considered financial advice and investing in LEGO is risky.