(Needs No Introduction)
Who could have ever guessed back in the day that Star Wars would have exploded into the gigantic empire (like that word😉) that it has become. It was probably the sci-fi element that grabbed the fascination with the world and carries its success on through to today. It wasn’t enough to just watch it on the big screen. Folks needed to hold onto memorabilia to represent it off-screen. There were t-shirts, hats, sweaters, and of course toys.
The movie, Star Wars: A New Hope, began the phenomenon of marketing toys that were associated with that film. That ploy found so much success that the creator of the film himself, George Lucas, was able to fund the following two sequels independently with the proceeds. Virtually every character or vehicle has been immortalized into a figurine or playset since that initial movie nearly four decades ago and finds a deep connection for collectors of every generation, provided they can afford the ever-growing price tags. There are very few toy collections as avidly sought after nor as valuable. You may want to check your attic and see what you have stored away.
- Chewbacca. A 1977 Kenner Action Figure. This guy did not have a single line that anyone could comprehend during his run on the entire series but he is one of the most beloved characters and among the most valuable. $4,155.
- Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi Telescoping Lightsaber. 1972 Kenner released these with small lightsabers that they were worried about the tininess of. Finding them with the lightsabers in mint condition in the boxes found one eBay seller success at $30,000 in 2013.
- Gamorrean Guard. 1985 Kenner Action Figure. This guy will be more valuable if you find him in his packaging. $5000.
- Star Wars Comic. 1977 Marvel Comic Book Issue # 1. It is said that back in 1977 Marvel wanted to up the price of their comics going from the standard 25 cents to 35 cents. They went about doing this by experimenting on the Star Wars comic, so Issue #1 was raised to 35 cents, but it was only sent out to four select markets as a sort of test to determine how folks would react. What they didn’t realize is that they set this comic apart by making this change and made it among the rare. There are only approximately 1500 of the ‘35 cent variant titles’ available in existence, so it would be extremely difficult to find one in mint condition. $13,500.
- Lego Millennium Falcon. 2007 Lego Playset. This 195-piece set became a collector’s item as the largest Star Wars Lego set that had ever been released. That was until the 2017 Lego Millennium Falcon playset was released with over 7000 pieces. The new version has nothing on the old set, though. If you can find one in mint condition still in the box your value can be as high as $16,000.
- Vinyl Cape Jawa. 1978 Kenner Action Figure. This action figure is one of the most valuable of the Kenner figures. There have been only approximately 6 of these that included the cape discovered and sold which makes them to be extremely rare. There has been one that was sold at auction and brought $18,000 but the be all was the one that brought a seller $53,000 on EBay. You don’t know what your’s might bring if you’re lucky enough to find one.
- Medical Droid FX-7. 1980 Palitoy Action Figure. This guy took care of Luke Skywalker in a famous scene taken from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, as sort of the unsung hero-type. He was the subject of a bidding war between two collectors with the winner ultimately doling out $11,500.
- R2D2 Lunchbox. 1977 King Seely Plastic Lunchbox. This lunchbox stands out among all of those plastic lunch pails that you used to cart off to school in those early mornings. It was actually just a prototype. There were just 12 that were sold on the market as a whole, which has made it extraordinarily rare and worth thousands of dollars today. $3000.
- Han Solo in Carbonite Scale Model. This is absolutely huge and collectors find this the absolute coolest item to get hold of. It is 7 ½” tall and is portrayed in the Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back film. $7000.
- Han Solo with Blaster and Little Head. Kenner Action Figure. This is the first Kenner action figure that featured Han Solo, came with a smuggler blaster as well as an unusually small head. If you can find one of these exactly like this in mint condition it could fetch you $1000.
- Limited Edition Boba Fett Action Figure. This action figure is rare because you couldn’t actually buy it. The only way that you could obtain this piece was to cut out proofs from your other action figure purchases and mail them in after you had the required amount saved up. That made this guy very sought after. Today, this toy in mint condition including the gold coin in a box could bring $3,500, outside of the box $2,000, but a pretty cool item was an unpainted prototype version which was made by the British toy maker Meccano which was sold at an auction for $35,000.
- The Original Anakin Skywalker Figure with coin. 1985 Action Figure. In the movie Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, British actor Sebastian Shaw was seen as Anakin Skywalker. It was later that Hayden Christensen would take over the part for two of the prequels. This original action figure was made in the likeness of Mr. Shaw and is today very rare with a range in value from $500 to $600.
- Blue Snaggletooth. Kenner Action Figure. Kenner is the company responsible for producing the line of original action figures for the Star Wars characters. When it came time for Snaggletooth to be made, Lucasfilm sent Kenner a black and white photo of the character. Rather than ask, Kenner went ahead and produced a likeness of the figure wearing a blue jumpsuit as opposed to red and made him actually taller than he was supposed to be. Kenner quickly corrected the error, but unknowingly made a valuable collectible in return. $700
This was incredibly fun traveling down the Star Wars galaxy. For anyone who hasn’t seen the movies, (some of us must confess) this would definitely give you a reason to get some popcorn and have a marathon weekend. Enjoy.