LEGO Samsonite / Basic Sets

Basic Set is a subtheme of Samsonite that consists of 82 sets that ran from 1961 to 1975. Most sets were released in 1966 which accounted for 18 sets. As of today, the average annual growth of all the sets in Samsonite Basic Set is around 7.0% per year. As of today, 080-2 Ambassador Set is the most valuable set in Samsonite Basic Set with an estimated new/factory sealed value of $3,163.72.

Most valuable LEGO Basic Set set
080-2 Ambassador Set - $3,163.72

Highest growth Basic Set set
806-2 Cowboy & Pony - 44813.27%

Largest LEGO Basic Set set
1252 Piece Motorized Basic Set - 1,252 pieces

Most owned Basic Set set
001 Gears

Samsonite was an American manufacturer of LEGO sets which introduced the very first USA LEGO catalog for Christmas of 1961. LEGO and Samsonite created a partnership to produce and sell LEGO in the US. The result was a 9-year license for exclusive North American distribution rights. Samsonite began marketing sets under the name LEGO by Samsonite in the US in 1961 and Canada in 1962.

Initially, Samsonite manufactured the basic bricks in their existing Stratford, Ontario factory and imported the specialty pieces, such as the trees and HO 1:87 Vehicles, from Billund however, in Samsonite built a second plant in April 1965 in Loveland, Colorado. devoted exclusively to LEGO manufacturing and by the mid 1960s Samsonite was marketing an almost completely different assortment than in Europe. A licensing dispute ended the arrangement in the United States in 1972, but Samsonite remained the distributor of LEGO in Canada until 1988.