LEGO is making sure the original goat holds its value

The introduction of two new LEGO goats in 2024 is doing nothing to lower the value of the original and highly-coveted animal, whether by design or not.

The LEGO goat mould first appeared in 2011’s 7189 Mill Village Raid, but was then retired for 13 long years until making a comeback in January’s 71045 Series 25 with the Goatherd minifigure. In the interim, the price of the classic piece shot up to roughly £50 on the aftermarket. But a quick glance at BrickLink suggests that value is holding even while the goat is freely available in a £3.49 minifigure – and with good reason.

The new goat – the first of two different variants on the cards for 2024 – is all-white (with dark tan horns), while the original goat featured nougat markings on its body. This might be the same goat mould (with perhaps a couple of tiny tweaks), but it isn’t the same piece. And that means the cheapest 2011 goat in good condition you’ll find on BrickLink at the time of writing still costs just north of £50.

That likely won’t change when 10332 Medieval Town Square arrives in March. The latest LEGO Icons set includes another new goat variant, this time in dark grey, perhaps in some sly reference to The VVitch’s Black Phillip. (We might be reaching there.) According to lead designer Henrik Rubin Saaby, the goat was picked ahead of other animals because it made more narrative sense for the set.

“There wasn’t room for it for in 10305 Lion Knights’ Castle and having a marketplace where you didn’t have either a cow, horse or a new animal – or an old animal! – would be weird,” Henrik tells Brick Fanatics. “So it was just spot on. And it fitted with this one especially when we came up with this cheese factory. You can have goat cheese and cow cheese and whatever in there. And there was a cow in the Lion Knights’ Castle, so you could bring it in here to make the whole story.”

In any case, this new goat is unlikely to have much impact on the value of the O.G. goat. And given it’s the second opportunity the LEGO Group has passed up to bring back the very same printed goat from 2011, you get the sense the company is not interested in revisiting that exact design. That’s not necessarily indicative of an interest in protecting the value of the original goat, though: it could just as easily be a desire to create new and different pieces.

One piece of evidence in the company’s favour is the poster in 10332 Medieval Town Square that cheekily references a drop in the price of goats, but we’ll probably never know its real intentions. Either way, but if you happen to have a herd of original LEGO goats, you can rest easy knowing that they’re still highly prized by collectors. Five new-condition 2011 goats have sold through BrickLink this month already, at an average of £51.78 each. (The poster may not be quite as on the money as the LEGO Group thinks.)

If you’re just happy to own a goat of any kind, or want a complete collection of LEGO animals of all types and varieties, you can find the all-white version with 71045 Series 25’s Goatherd minifigure right now. (Here’s how to ensure you find the right minifigure in the blind-boxed series every time.) 10332 Medieval Town Square and its dark grey goat will be available to LEGO Insiders from March 1.

Click here to find out more about the latest LEGO Castle-themed set.

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