2004

2004 was yet another spectacular year for LEGO collectors and investors. 2004 saw a staggering 362 sets released, not including gear or books, with 40 promotional and not for retail sets.

Based on the 362 sets released for that year, the retail value was $7,008.09 with a current value of $44,586.74 for the combined new/factory sealed sets. As of present, the best performing theme for 2004 is currently Trains which has seen an average annual growth of upwards of 20% to date. With the 54 sets that year, the Bionicle theme had the most released sets.

2004 was a shakeup year at LEGO, coming off of 2003 with record losses. Some significant events include the release of the QUATRO System for very young children, and most notably the replacement of many long-standing LEGO colors including gray, dark gray, brown and violet and the introduction of some new colors like light nougat which ultimately became the skin tone for many minifigures. In 2004, The LEGO Group created a partnership with Ferrari and a number of LEGO Ferrari sets were released that year based on Ferrari’s Formula 1 racing cars. New themes released in 2004 included Maersk, Knight's Kingdom II and Ferrari under the Racers theme. LEGO discontinued the Adventurers Orient Expedition, the original Spider-Man theme, LEGO World City and Gravity Games.