Are Legos a better investment than gold?

For those looking for a solid return on their investment, an online tour of toys on eBay could be time better spent than a call to a broker. That's because a Lego set in mint condition may well represent a better future haul than a pot of gold.

An analysis by the Telegraph found investors obtained a better return purchasing Lego sets over the past few years than they did through the stock market, bank accounts or bullion.

The average annual return from the Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 index, during the past decade and a half is 4.1 percent, including dividends, the British newspaper found.

Conversely, Lego sets left untouched in their original packaging have increased in value 12 percent each year since the turn of the Millennium, with second-hand buyers willing to fork out more for certain sets the moment they go out of production. Modern editions are fetching even loftier prices, with those coming out last year selling on eBay for 36 percent more than their original cost.

At the same time, mainstream investments did not perform anywhere near as well as the sets of plastic building bricks.

Investing in gold drew a 9.6 percent yearly return over the last 15 years, while those who opted to go with a savings account accrued 2.8 percent annually, said the paper, citing investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown.

Old sets based around films like Star Wars are among the most popular with collectors. But even sets based on such mundane scenes as town roads are surging in value.

"Lego investing is not hitting bubble-like status," Ed Maciorowski, founder of BrickPicker.com, told the Telegraph. "That is partly because the Lego company doesn't promote the secondary market, it wants to sell direct to customers."