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Robots are really having a moment. Amidst the bliss of futuristic technology, a relic of the past and one of the most famous androids to ever grace the big screen led to a huge sale in the live auction of spring entertainment memorabilia at Propstore.
C-3PO’s light-up head from George Lucas’s iconic 1980 sci-fi film Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back It sold for $1,058,400 (£801,818) including buyer’s premium. It achieved the largest sale at auction to date, beating out items from films such as Jaws, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Pirates of the Caribbean, Top Gun, Batman Begins And more.
Per Propstore, the C-3PO head is the only known example from the film to have made it to the collector’s market. It’s not the first time an item has been sourced from star wars It sold for seven figures. In fact, it’s common for memorabilia from the series to fetch huge sums at auction such as when Darth Vader’s lightsaber sold for $3.654 million or an X-wing starfighter sold for $3.135 million.
The Propstore auction kicked off on Wednesday and continues today and tomorrow. The first day proved to be a lucrative spree with more than 250 lots from important films and TV shows shown and sold, with a net value of $6.5 million (£4.9 million), including buyer’s premiums. This was not only a big day for robots, but for sharks as well. A selection of memorabilia from Steven Spielberg Jaws Its total total was more than $600,000.
“We saw a strong start to the auction, with competitive bidding from the start, including an outstanding performance by the rhinoceros from Ace Ventura: When Nature Callswhich exceeded expectations,” explained Propstore COO Brandon Allinger Jaws The set also achieved an impressive overall score, coming just after the film’s 50th anniversary and reflecting its enduring appeal to collectors. With such a diverse range of items yet to be offered, we are excited to see how the rest of the auction will develop.
Notable sales from Propstore’s Spring Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction are below. (All prices include buyer’s premium.)
• Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) Light-Up C-3PO head: $1,058,400 (£801,818)
• Jaws (1975) Screen Quint (Robert Shaw) and photo-matching WW Greener Mark II light bayonet pistol with screen-matching case and custom SFX shark arrow: $327,600 (£248,182)
• Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003) Shards of Narsil: $252,000 (£190,909)
• Jaws (1975) Quintet (Robert Shaw) screen and photo-matched 670 130-pound deluxe Fenwick fishing rod with production-used Penn Senator 16/0 reel: $239,400 (£181,364)
• forsaken (2000) Wilson’s screen replica of Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks): $189,000 (£143,181)
• Gladiator (2000) Maximus helmet and mask (Russell Crowe): $189,000 (£143,481)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007) / Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) Screen-replica and photo-matching flintlock pistol of Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp): $170,100 (£128,863)
• Screaming 2 (1997) Allen Robinson Collection: Screen Match Ghostface Mask: $126,000 (£95,455)
• Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) Golden Ticket: $107,100 (£81,136)
• finisher (1984) T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) monitor and matching socket: $94,500 (£71,591)
• Jaws (1975) Shark tooth lamination board: $81,900 (£62,045)
• Killer clowns from outer space (1988) Screen-matching Shorty Klown head: $81,900 (£62,045)
• Batman Begins (2005) Batman cowl (Christian Bale): $75,600 (£57,273)
• Natural (1984) Roy Hobbs’ (Robert Redford) “Wonderboy” baseball bat: $75,600 (£57,273)
• Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983) Set of seven reels printed on 35mm Kodak Eastman stock: $69,300 (£52,500)
• Top Gun (1986) F-14A Tomcat film set model of Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise): $63,000 (£47,727)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) Thieves’ Map: $59,850 (£45,340)
• Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995) Planet Hollywood Collection: Huge mechanical unicorn “Born” by Ace Ventura (Jim Carrey) for $59,850 (£45,340)
