This is now the most valuable piece of Star Wars memorabilia
Darth Vader’s reign is over. For a brief period, it held the title of “most expensive piece of Star Wars memorabilia”, but before you could say “more riches than you can imagine”, it fell once again, with a new challenger taking its place. It was only last September that a verified lightsaber hilt used by the Dark Lord of the Sith in The Empire Strikes Back And Return of the Jedi set a sales record by grossing $3.65 million. The bar was high, but it has already been crossed.
The family of recent times Star Wars Producer Gary Kurtz recently auctioned off a rare and valuable work of art: Tom Jung’s original half-sheet painting depicting the heroes of the Rebellion, the X-Wing starfighters, and the looming head of Vader himself. Heritage Auctions ended up selling the piece for a staggering $3.875 million, setting a new record.
Experts attribute the incredible value of this work of art to two things. One of them is its rarity. The term “half sheet” refers to an older film poster format that was typically oriented horizontally rather than vertically and was printed on thicker paper intended for displays in theater lobbies. The original Star Wars The poster for the film (also painted by Jung) was in the more traditional vertical orientation and was more widely sold and collected – although you can see Luke and Leia’s iconic pose from that poster used again in a slightly different variation in the lower left corner of the half sheet.
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The other reason is that for many people it was their first visual introduction to the world of Star Wars to much of the public in 1977. Jung’s art was used in print newspaper advertisements beginning in early May of that year, several weeks before the film’s theatrical release. It is credited with laying the foundation for the cinematic experience: the artwork is dramatic, with competing shades of dark and light. It establishes the look of Vader, R2-D2, C-3PO, Chewbacca (if you look closely), and the X-Wings. You see the serious face of the elder Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi juxtaposed with the eager young face of Luke Skywalker looking skyward. There’s even a spoiler (not that people in 1977 would know that it’s about a triumphant medal ceremony that Luke, Chewie, and Han Solo are marching toward). As Heritage Auctions’ press release says, it is “the painting that introduced the world to Star Wars“, because it was “the first widely published image to promote Star Wars, ” adding that he “quickly became the definitive visual identity of Star Warslater gracing the film’s official program cover, massive 24-sheet billboards, and countless magazine and newspaper advertisements during its original release.
Now that a new champion has earned the top spot on the leaderboard, here are some of the other extremely valuable “Holy Grails” for collectors of all things. Star Wars:
DARTH VADER’S LIGHTSABER
As mentioned, the item that held the top spot for a few months was a verified screen-used lightsaber hilt, auctioned off during the Los Angeles Entertainment Memorabilia live auction. It was the only lightsaber accessory ever sold at public auction that was proven to be usable on camera. Price: $3.64 million
X-WING MODEL
Discovered in the garage of late Star Wars modeler Greg Jein, this extremely rare 20-inch X-Wing model was used for the final battle sequence of the original game. Star Wars and it was believed that he was lost forever. In 2023, Heritage Auctions puts it up for sale. Price: $3.1 million
VLIX ARTICULATED FIGURE
Not one of the most iconic Star Wars action figures, but certainly the rarest and most valuable. Don’t worry if you don’t know who Vlix is, you’re probably not alone. He only appeared in four episodes of the 1986 children’s animated series. Star Wars: Droids. What makes it rare is that it was originally going to be produced by toy manufacturer Kenner (who produced all the other figures in the series). Droids as well as the films), but the show was canceled before they could use the expensive molds they had already made for Vlix. So Kenner sold the molds to a Brazilian toy company called Glasslite, which then made the figures. They are extremely difficult to find and coveted by collectors. Price: between $5,000 and $50,000.
COMIC WONDER STAR WARS #1
Long before Disney owned them both, Luke Skywalker and Spider-Man shared a common home. In July 1977, Marvel Comics launched its Star Wars comic line with number 1, a retelling of the film adapted by Roy Thomas and illustrated by Howard Chaykin. Depending on its condition, it remains one of the most valuable objects Star Wars comics. Price: Between $2,500 and $11,500.
KRAYT DRAGON BONES
At the beginning of Star WarsC-3PO wanders the Tatooine desert and comes across the remains of a dinosaur-like creature. In fact, it is was a dinosaur – the bones were reused props from an old Disney movie called One of our dinosaurs has disappeared. Later identified by lore as the bones of a “Krayt dragon,” the prop bones were actually left by the crew in the Tunisian desert where they filmed, and pieces of the bones were discovered by an actual archaeologist in 1995. Rabid fans and collectors have even traveled to Tunisia to find (and sell) whatever pieces they can find in the sand. Price: between $150 and $1,800.
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