Lego shark for auction!

Posted On: 08 Oct 2025

Just over a year ago, a small piece of Lego, a shark, was landed by Devon fisherman Richard West after recognizing it in his trawl net whilst working at sea; recognized straight away as being a piece from a lost consignment washed off cargo ship Tokio Express by a freak wave off the Cornish coast nearly thirty years ago. After interest in the find from local, national and international media, the little shark, now covered with marine worm tubes, has been included in Eldreds collectors’ sale catalogue, to be sold on behalf of two charities, Cancer Research UK and The Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen. When the Lego shark was found, it was the first of its kind to be reported to the Lego Lost at Sea Project, from a consignment of nearly 52,000 Lego sharks and a total of some 4.75 million examples of mainly sea-themed Lego play pieces. The project was set up to help monitor finds from the ship to understand how plastic pollution behaves in the oceans and anyone finding Lego washed up on beaches for example, is encouraged to report it to the Lego Lost at Sea Facebook page. ‘Our’ little shark has been on his travels since being rescued from the sea and has been photographed atop a Routemaster bus, conversing with a polar bear on an ice floe, having a scary ride on a hovercraft and making a new friend on Kashyyyk. Now looking for a new home and new adventures, the shark will be offered for sale as part of our specialist Collectors’ Items, Books, Stamps, Coins, Medals & Toys auction on 30th October, with viewing on the Tuesday and Wednesday before the sale.