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The Norwegian Anne Martha Harnes held the Guinness record since 2016, saw an American take it in 2025, and reclaimed it in 2026 by recounting the world’s largest Zelda collection: 4,000 items from Nintendo’s video game, valued at around R$ 500,000.
There are world record disputes that seem like a script, and the largest Zelda collection is one of them. Anne Martha Harnes, a primary school teacher in Ålesund, Norway, held the title of the largest collector of the series since 2016, until an American fan appeared and took her title. Instead of accepting defeat, she recounted everything and returned to the top with exactly 4,000 items, according to the Guinness World Records.
The number is not just large, it’s deliberately round. It took 4,000 distinct items from the Nintendo video game for the teacher to reclaim the record, in a collection she herself estimates to be worth around R$ 500,000. The turnaround, falling from the throne and returning to it, is what makes this Zelda collection much more than just a pile of figurines.
The record she held since 2016
She first achieved the Guinness record for the largest Zelda collection in 2016, when she gathered 1,816 unique items dedicated to the video game. It was already a respectable collection, the result of years of dedicated fan gathering.
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Inspired by a 2000s Wonder Woman cartoon, she amassed 1,581 items, including a comic signed by Stan Lee, becoming the world’s largest collector.
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Since then, the teacher never stopped collecting. Every Nintendo release, every rare item that appeared, ended up on her shelves. This constant accumulation is what would later explain the turnaround: the Zelda collection kept growing even when the official title was no longer hers.
When an American took the title
Peace lasted until 2025. In that year, the mega-fan Constantine Adams from the United States entered the competition and surpassed the Norwegian’s mark, taking over the Guinness record with 3,918 items from the series. Suddenly, the world’s largest Zelda collection had a new owner across the Atlantic.
Losing a record held for almost a decade is no small thing. The American had gathered an impressive amount of pieces from the Nintendo video game, and the difference from Anne’s then-cataloged collection showed that the competition would be neck and neck. The title had changed hands, but the teacher did not intend to let it go easily.
The turnaround: recount and reclaim with 4,000 items
The comeback came from a clever detail. Anne realized that her Zelda collection was, in practice, much larger than the previously recorded number because she had continued buying while the title was with the rival. All she needed to do was recount everything, item by item, to prove to Guinness the real size of the collection.
That’s what she did, and the result was exactly 4,000 items. With this count, the teacher reclaimed the record on February 21, 2026, surpassing the American’s 3,918. The moment was symbolic: the reconquest coincided with the 40th anniversary of the Nintendo franchise, giving the world’s largest Zelda collection a return worthy of celebration.
What’s in the world’s largest Zelda collection
According to Zelda Universe, the collection holds rarities such as a prototype plush of Deku Link, a prototype GameCube controller from Twilight Princess, and action figures that never reached the stores.
There are also items of enormous sentimental and historical value. The Zelda collection includes shikishi drawings by Akira Himekawa, the artist duo behind the series’ manga, as well as rare award items related to classics like Ocarina of Time. Each of these objects helps explain why 4,000 items from the Nintendo video game are worth what they’re worth.
How much is the largest Zelda collection worth?
The exact account is difficult even for the owner. When asked about the value, Anne admitted that it’s complicated to price, but estimated that her Zelda collection is around 1 million Norwegian crowns, equivalent to about R$ 500 thousand in approximate conversion. It’s not an official number, but rather the estimate of someone who knows each piece.
This value makes sense when you look at the type of item involved. Prototypes that were never sold, event giveaways, and original art tend to be expensive in the Nintendo collector’s market, precisely because they are almost impossible to find. Gathering 4 thousand items like this over the years is what turns a hobby into a fortune in the form of a video game.
When passion for a game becomes a world record
In the end, Anne’s story mixes stubbornness and love for a classic. A primary school teacher who lost the Guinness record to an American, recounted each piece and returned to the top with 4 thousand items shows that, for the hardcore fan, giving up is not an option. The largest Zelda collection in the world is, above all, proof of more than a decade of dedication to the Nintendo video game.
And you, do you have any game, series, or character that you love to the point of collecting everything that comes your way? Share in the comments which franchise would make you build such a collection if you could.
