Most Expensive Rubik's Cubes & Factors that make them so Valuable

Most of the speedcubes we buy are sold at affordable prices. However, there are Rubik’s cubes built and designed specifically for collectors which are wildly expensive in comparison. This is a list of some of the most costly Rubik’s cubes ever made, and what makes them so valuable.

A Rubik’s Cube History

The Rubik’s cube was originally invented in 1974 by a Hungarian college professor named Erno Rubik. Once he realized what he had created, after it became mass-produced by toy companies, there was instant commercial success. Six sides with six colors made it look attractive and it hooked people with its deceptive difficulty The first World Championship was held very soon after. People’s fascination with the small puzzle led others to create and popularize their own variants, and some decided to take it to the next level by designing some of the most expensive cubes.

Read on: All About Rubik’s Cube

Original Unopened 1980s Rubik’s Cube

Before looking at the variants, the original 1980 Rubik’s cube is still worth a lot. It has been over 40 years since the puzzle was first released to the public and a lot has changed since then. So the original design in its unopened packaging has become something of a limited edition collector’s item. It can be found on a few websites for around 500 USD.

Over the Top Cube

The original Rubik’s Cube was a 3x3 puzzle. Since then, there have been many higher-order puzzles such as 4x4 and 5x5. Over the Top Cube is huge compared to these, being a 17x17 puzzle created by Oscar van Deventer. The pieces were made using a 3D printer, and it took 3 collapses before it was finally assembled. It was valued at over 2500 USD or around 2 lakh rupees.

Super Big Cube

The Super Big Cube claimed the title for the larger order puzzle after the Over the Top cube, being 21x21. This was created by the popular brand MoYu as a collector’s item, but also something that could move fairly smoothly for its size. It weighed around 3 kilograms in total and is sold for 1500 USD.

The Greg Pfennig Cube

Greg Pfennig, a French puzzle designer, took this to the next level when he revealed his 33x33x33 masterpiece in 2017. It took over 200 hours to put together and consisted of more than 6000 tiny individual pieces. With so many parts and the effort involved, it sold for 16,000 USD or over 13 lakh rupees!

The Masterpiece Cube

Moving past the higher-order variants, the most expensive cube in the world is actually a simple 3x3 puzzle. It was built by Diamond Cutters International, a jewelry store, to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the puzzle’s release in 1995. Each side’s color is made up of intricately placed precious gems. Green consists of emeralds, red consists of rubies, and so on. This makes the Masterpiece cube worth a whopping 1.5 million USD! And even with its immense value, it still can be twisted and solved like a normal 3x3 puzzle.

Conclusion: Why Do People Collect Expensive Cubes?

Expensive cubes are made because many collectors will want them on their shelves. They are both valuable because of the effort of making such complex designs but also because they are limited editions, so only a few are available. People like to display their collections, and a collection is made even more valuable by the price and uniqueness of the cube design.

About the Author

Pranav Prabhu

Pranav Prabhu is the current 3x3 Fewest Moves (Single) National record holder from Chennai. He started cubing when he was 14 and has 5 years of cubing experience. Besides cubing, Pranav enjoys reading books, writing, and playing the piano. He has participated in 36 competitions and won 30 podiums including 8 gold medals and 1 National record.